Conclusion to The Wolf Lake Series
by Sapphira2
Summary: Virtual Season One Continuation. Picks up where the actual series left off. Each chapter represents an 'episode'. COMPLETED FINALE "Never Cry Wolf" posted, as well as Soundtrack and Lyric Book... Final Author's Note Uploaded
1. Ep 10, Wolven Behavior

Conclusion to Wolf Lake Series

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf Lake, and I make no claims to it's copyright. I'm just borrowing it for a while to finish what its creators didn't.

Introduction- What is there to say? This will be my conclusion to the canceled series, and will hopefully allow its fans some closure! This is the way I see it all going down, if the series had been allowed to continue. I did my best to stick as close to the character's personalities as a unseasoned author could! There will be major character development between Sophia and Luke, as well as John and Ruby. As well as for some of the other characters, but I'm not going to give anything away!

Each chapter will have a different title. Each chapter symbolizing a different episode. You'll even see suggestions as to the soundtrack. Again, I tried to stick as close to the type of music heard in the series Wolf Lake.

The chapters will roughly be rated PG-13, but there will be some increase in rating during some of them, for obvious reasons.

I will keep going as long as my muse holds out, which will have a lot to do with how many reviews I get! (wink) So bring them on!

Enjoy!

Welcome to my world, and watch your step….

Chapter One (Ep. 10 )

"Wolven Behavior"

"Dad, you've got to help me." Sophia's sob echoed softly throughout the station as Matthew Donner knelt down in front of his daughter, concern in his eyes as he gripped her shoulders. Sophia's face was pale and stained with tears. The anguish he saw in her eyes sent all sorts of bad case scenarios through his mind.

Sophia couldn't stop shaking. The ache in her lower back was starting to spread to her thighs. It was increasing in pressure that was unfamiliar to her. The senses she had kept turned on low these last few weeks, had turned on full blast, and their intensity was disconcerting. It wasn't like before, when they just barely flickered on the edge of her consciousness. Now she could hear almost everything going on in the town. Cars speeding down the roads. People laughing and arguing. Wolves howling… Especially the wolves… She could hear the hushed tones of the common lines of telepathy running through the pack. Could hear them hunting and mating. Running and shifting. Fighting and celebrating.

"Honey, what's wrong? What happened?" Matt urged his daughter to look at him, panic starting to shift across his face.

Sophia couldn't stop the small gasps escaping her parted lips. She turned her head towards the door, staring out into the darkness. She knew Luke was coming. Sensed he was closing in. 

She couldn't believe what she had done to him tonight. She had never been physically violent with someone before. But she had picked Luke up like he weighed nothing at all, and had slammed him into the windshield of his car. Luke, who was a full-blooded Skinwalker, and easily outweighed her by 100 pounds. And she had hauled him up with one hand and had flipped him clear over on his back.

She remembered Scott's eyes full of disbelief when she had looked at him, disbelief and fear. 

Fear of her. Of what she was.

Luke had also been slightly surprised to say the least, but she had seen the dark delight in his eyes as he smiled at her. Knowing that she was further along than he had anticipated. Let him see her try to deny herself now.

Sophia didn't know what she was supposed to feel anymore. The part of her that was human never wanted to see Luke Cates again. He was dangerous and a threat, not only to her sanity, but her heart as well. And he had already bruised that. This part wanted her to run far, far away from Wolf Lake and Luke's influence.

But that other part, that was roaring for supremacy at the current moment, cried out for him. Called for him to come to her and finish what he had started. Begged to run forever with him under the moonlight.

Sophia broke her eyes away from the door to look at her father, knowing her eyes were flashing gold. This time he could see it. Matt allowed his senses to expand and discovered the wolf within his daughter, fighting to break free. This time it wasn't going to be stilled.

"Dad, help me." Sophia whispered. Her eyes brilliant and filled with fear and confusion. This wasn't like before. This time, the chains she had used to lock the wolf away down deep, had snapped. She couldn't stop her other nature from taking control. It wasn't going to be pushed aside again. Not this time. It was like some bad dream she wanted to wake up from, needed to wake up from.

But this was no dream.

Matt framed his daughter's face with his hands as he watched the yellow fire flicker across her still all-too-human eyes. Eyes like her mother's. Eyes he had prayed constantly for, that they would never see the change now starting to take place.

Matt pulled Sophia to him and wrapped his arms protectively around her. Wishing he could save her from this nightmare. Knowing he was too late.

He had thought because Marie had been human, their daughter had a chance of being human also. But he knew that Sophia was either going to Flip or die trying. He panicked at the thought of the later. He had hoped that she would have never have to go through this. Not so much because of the ability to shift one's form into that of an animal. That, in and of itself, was an amazing ability, but because it came at the price of either death, or a life caught within the clutches of the pack. A life that would have to be spent forever in Wolf Lake. Ruby had tried to run, had tried to get away from Tyler, but look what had happened to her. You could never run far and long enough to get away from Wolf Lake. Not once you became one of them.

Sophia pressed her damp cheek into Matt's shoulder. Her eyes going back to the door. Luke was out there. Watching her from the shadows. Stalking her. She could sense him, even in his wolf form. Her body recognized his closeness. And her mind unwittingly called for him through a more personal telepathic link. One that had formed in the woods a few days back, when he had shifted for her, and had called for her to join with him in wolf form. She couldn't, and had watched him disappear into the foliage

She felt his mind brush hers in acknowledgment. Using not words but emotions to relay to her that he was near, and that he wasn't going anywhere. Not this time. His assuredness relieved and frightened Sophia all at the same time, and her mind skittered away from the contact. Severing it.

She closed her eyes tightly, as Matt slightly rocked her back and forth. His mind racing to come up with a plan. He had to get her somewhere safe. Away from the influence of the Pack if things went badly for her. He wasn't going to let Vivian snap his daughter's neck, even though it was the responsibility of the pack leader to end the suffering of those caught within the Flip. He couldn't let anything happen to her. He had promised Marie.

Luke had pinpointed Sophia's location, just within the doors of the station. His fur bristling in agitation. He knew Sophia could sense him. Confirmed it with her slight mental brush. He wanted to be with her. Needed to be with her. His growing feelings for Sophia had confused him to the point of insanity the last couple of months.

This was a lot different than simply wanting to get in some girl's pants, despite what Presley kept insinuating to Sophia was his cause for sniffing around. Even though he admitted that that was what it was in the beginning. But it had slowly changed into something else that he wasn't familiar with.

He had tried distancing himself from her. Knew he had hurt her. He had said and done things that he wouldn't forgive himself for anytime soon. Like screwing Presley, when he had really only wanted Sophia in his arms. He had wanted to rip his own throat out when he had realized that she had seen him with her… Knew that he had messed up countless times where Sophia was concerned.

But not anymore. He had finally acknowledged what Sophia meant to him this night, what he had instinctively known all along but had tried to ignore. 

He needed her. And Luke Cates had never needed anyone.

Despite his regrets over all the nights he had spent over the last few months, this was one night he didn't regret. He wasn't in the habit of excusing his nature and he wasn't going to start tonight. He was what he was, and he had reacted in the way of the Wolf. A male ungulate had moved in on Sophia to claim her as his own, and that was going to be met head on with snapping teeth, bristled fur, and ripping claws.

He hadn't expected himself to respond like that. He knew then how dangerous he had become at that moment. How close he had comes to revealing his ability in front of a human.

That was, until Sophia had flipped him cleanly into his windshield without breaking a sweat. She was stronger than he had originally thought she would be. Especially since she hadn't even Flipped yet. It wasn't easy for a female, half-breed or not, to toss a full-blooded male the way she had.

He paced restlessly outside the station. Sticking close to the shadows. He ached to charge into the station, but knowing he would be met by the barrel of Matthew Donner's gun if he tried.

He would wait and watch, for now. He could smell the rising muskiness of Sophia's scent as her body prepared itself for the Flip. The full implications of that hit him. There was always the chance she wouldn't make it. That her body wouldn't be able to complete what her soul desperately needed it to in order to survive. He felt a rising moment of panic twist low in his gut. 

He couldn't lose her.

Matt was feeling the same kind of panic, as he grabbed the truck's keys, and half carried Sophia shivering body out the door. He knew of only one place that was safe.

Sherman Blackstone's house.

Matt rushed around to the driver's side, after helping Sophia into the back seat. Assuring her all the while that everything was going to be okay. 

His own eyes flashed momentarily in warning as he caught the familiar scent of a Skinwalker's musk. Luke.

Matt's eyes sought out the crouched form of the boy's wolven skin. Their eyes met and locked. A challenge issued and received. He should have known that pup would be sniffing around. It concerned Matt that Luke and Sophia had developed a rather strange relationship over the last few months. Not friends, not mates. Matt knew the player that Luke was. And heaven help the boy if he found out that he had hurt Sophia tonight. Matt had already smelled the boy on his daughter, as well as that human she had gone out with.

Matt had a sinking suspicion about what went down tonight, and he prayed that the kid hadn't created a bigger mess than could be cleaned up.

Matt yanked his gaze away from the wolf, and slid into the driver's seat. He would deal with Luke later, when his daughter was safe.

Sophia was hardly aware of the breakneck speed in which Matt pushed the truck into on their way to Blackstone.

The ache in her back and legs had increased to a throbbing pain. It was starting to spread further into her limbs. Her skin was starting to burn.

She clenched her hands into fists, noticing that her nails had lengthened and had become sharper. She wrapped her arms around her cramping stomach, and silently began to cry. Matthew watching hopelessly through the rear view mirror. Sophia's eyes had flared gold and had remained that way. Shining even through her tears.

She closed her eyes and saw images dance across her mind. Images of the moonlit forest, mist curling around the trees. Watching wolves run and hunt. It was beautiful as well as frightening. She saw images of Luke. Luke in wolf form, guarding her. Luke in human form, images of his eyes flaring golf fire at her in the rearview mirror of his car that night so long ago, when she had realized that he wanted more from her than to just be a friend. 

She remembered the sensations she had felt that night. It was the first time she had felt the awakening of her other self, as she had responded to his heated gaze locked on hers as Presley was draped over him, and Shawn had been trying to get hands and mouth on her all night. For a split second she imagined it was him that had been touching her, not Shawn.

Sophia groaned as the images were replaced with the memories of her dream just a couple of days ago, where she had made love with Luke. She could hear her own heart beating loud in her ears. She knew Luke was close by. Somehow keeping up with the breakneck speed in which the vehicle was traveling.

Sherman had just reached out his hand to flip the light switch off in his living room, when the front door splintered open, slamming hard enough against the wall to shake every window pane in the room.

"I take it this isn't a social visit." Sherman remarked wryly as Matt carried in the huddled form of a girl. When she looked up and revealed herself to be Sophia, flashing eyes and all, Sherman's humor faded away quickly.

So, it was finally time for the little one.

"Take her into the bedroom." Sherman ordered, following in behind Matt, as he carried Sophia down the hallway and into the bedroom. Setting her down carefully on the mattress.

Sophia looked around slowly, recognizing where she was, and understanding why she had been brought here. Her father believed this to be the safest place for her right now, till she had finished… Sophia's thought trailed off, and a brief surge of anger trickled in. She didn't want this! This wasn't her choice! She wasn't ready yet to become a animal. She didn't want to be tied down to Wolf Lake. She wanted to see the world. The world that her father and Luke never would. She had to fight it. See if she could win. Even if there was the slightest chance she could…. The thought trailed off as a sharp, intense pain hit her hard and ugly, causing her to curl into a ball on the mattress. A stunned cry escaping her lips for the first time that evening. The pain was unreal, she hadn't expected it to be this bad, and it was just getting started. She felt as if something inside of her was trying to twist her inside out.

"I'm sorry, Dad," She gasped softly. Squeezing her eyes shut at the sight of tears in her father's eyes as he watched her struggle with the wolf within. "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to…" Sophia broke off as another pain hit her, this time feeling like all the bones in her back and limbs were twisting on her. She muffled her scream against the pillow.

"Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for." Matt soothed her, hardly able to watch Sophia curled up the way she was, locked in the death grip of the Change.

But Sophia was beyond hearing him now, her soul had now entered what must have felt like the gates of hell. She could feel her internal organs and skeletal structure trying to shift on her, trying to change. She felt like someone had doused gasoline all over her skin, and lit a match.

She wasn't aware of anything, or anyone. Not Sherman, not Luke, not even her father. Only the intensity of what she was going through now was her world. That, and the wolf within her clawing for release. She couldn't let it go. She couldn't. It was death for her either way.

Sophia opened her mouth and started to scream like she would never stop.

Matthew stood helplessly by, as he tried to restrain Sophia's flailing limbs. Watching her hopelessly fight the creature within. Despite the fast, intense rate of the convulsions, Sophia hadn't changed hardly at all, except for her eyes and fingernails. The Change was just beginning, but at this rate, he didn't think Sophia would survive long enough to see it through.

"I don't understand!" Matt shot at Sherman as the Indian came over and restrained Sophia's limbs with rope. Anchoring her to the bed. Matt stepped back, panting slightly from the exertion. Anguish in his eyes. "She hadn't shown any symptoms until tonight. Why did this just come out of nowhere?"

Sherman glanced at Matt momentarily, before focusing back on Sophia. "Because she _has _been showing signs, Matt! For weeks now! I've seen it, and half of Wolf Lake has seen it. You just didn't want to."

Sherman snatched up a washrag, and gently plotted Sophia's forehead. Her eyes were open but unfixed and glazed. Her body clenching and cramping against the pain. Sherman sensed that Sophia wasn't allowing the Change to happen like she should. She wasn't allowing her body to Flip. She was fighting it with everything she had. 

She couldn't do that, it was ripping her apart.

Sophia was unique in the fact that she possessed two separate and distinct natures. They all thought that because she was half human, that her Skinwalker abilities were diluted, weakened. Nothing was further from the truth. Sophia's Skinwalker capabilities and instincts were as strong of those of full-blood.  But her human DNA actually gave her more control over the wolf within. Had allowed her to leash it longer than the others. But, as the others had learned earlier in life, you couldn't chain what was inside forever.

Now her gift was making itself into a curse. She was successfully holding onto the wolf within, and wasn't allowing the Flip to occur. Unless she gave in, and soon, it would kill her.

Matt knew this as well.

"Why didn't she tell me?" Matt quietly asked, His face drawn and lines of concern and fear were visible around his hardened mouth and eyes, as he watched Sophia writhe and yank at her restraints. Occasionally shrieking in a voice that he didn't recognize anymore.

Sherman rubbed his forehead tiredly, "Figure it out, Matt. She didn't want to disappoint you. But right now, we've got a problem, and I can think of only one thing that might work."

"What needs to be done?" Matt demanded. Willing to do whatever it took to save his daughter.

Sherman  just looked at him, and then back at Sophia. The girl was in hell.

Sherman turned quickly and left the room, Matt close on his heels. Sherman went over to what was left of his front door, and stepped out onto the step.

"Luke! Get your tail in here, Now!" 

Luke didn't need a second invitation.

"You've got to be joking…" Matthew muttered under his breath as a large wolf came barreling into the room, on all fours, quickly shifting back into his human form, shedding his pelt for naked skin. I clicked with Matt what Sherman was thinking, and knew he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter. It might be the only thing that would save Sophia.

If anyone could convince Sophia to give up this fight within, and allow her inner wolf out, this…pup could.

He would hold off wringing his neck for another night.

Luke had heard every scream. Had felt every convulsion. He knew that Sophia was in trouble, and had been about ready to bust in there, Sheriff or no, and do something about it, when Sherman had finally called him in. Just how Sherman had known he was out there, was something he was going to have to inquire about later.

Sherman wearily sat down on the Sofa, settling in for what might be a very long night. "Go to her, Luke. Get her out of this mess she's put herself in." 

Matt stopped Luke before he entered the hallway. He looked the kid straight in the eye. Matt's eyes flashed gold in warning for the second time that night.

"If you hurt her, in any way, I will kill you."

Luke glared back at Matt. His mouth hardened into a thin line, and his eyes went native in response like the bristling male he was.

"You didn't exactly do her any favors by raising her up to believe that being a Skinwalker was something to avoid. It is her nature, as well as yours, but you led her to believe it was something to be repulsed by!" Luke's voice was a low growl, as he remembered this afternoon, when Sophia had told him in the kitchen at the diner that she wasn't comfortable becoming a "creature." As if the very idea repelled her.

He remembered the way his eyes had hardened slightly at her statement, and the growl of frustration that he had almost voiced. He hadn't taken it very well. It still rubbed his fur the wrong way just thinking about it.

Matt's jaw tightened in acknowledgment of the truth in Luke's words, but damn it if he was going to admit it to the punk!

"I mean it." He intoned, still refusing to let Luke pass.

Luke forced down his aggression, and took in a deep breath, before looking at Matt again. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

That was as close an acknowledgment as Matt was going to get. He stepped aside as Luke swiftly made his way down the hall, and into the bedroom. Closing it securely behind him.

Luke stood there quietly for a moment and assessed the situation. His jaw tightened and his eyes flickered dangerously, when he saw that they had her restrained. He growled softly under his breath as he shot forward to slice away the ropes binding her hands and feet. He knew that in most cases they were necessary to keep the person under control. But he couldn't stand the sight of her being held down like that. Her tender skin was already raw from the pressure of her pulling at them unconsciously.

Luke held her with one arm, as he quickly and effectively stripped the bed sheets off the mattress. They kept getting entangled in her limbs, and he knew that they would feel unbearable against her heated skin.

Her clothes were soaked with perspiration, and they were going to cause a problem later when she finally did Flip. He knew that from experience. Feeling like you were wrapped up and contained wasn't a very pleasant experience, when your instincts were pretty much in control of your emotions, and things like human thought process didn't exist in that realm of wolven behavior.

Luke situated himself beside Sophia up on the bed, and held her down, as she unwittingly struggled against the wolf within. Her eyes were unfixed and unseeing even though they were flared gold. Luke thought he would never get the sounds of her anguished cries out of his head.

Luke exerted more force with her than he liked, as he quickly removed the soaked cloths from her body. Stripping her down. She probably wouldn't like him for these liberties taken, but to be honest, he realized he would find it humorous later. Her modesty was a rarity along the Skinwalkers.

Despite the seriousness of the moment at hand, Luke couldn't help but acknowledge how beautiful she was. She was perfect, but her form was still all-too-human.

Luke grimaced as her sharper than usual nails managed to score themselves down his chest, leaving behind five shallow furrows in his flesh, that trickled blood down his torso. But the pain from the wound was insignificant against the ache in his heart.

He hadn't wanted this for her. Hadn't wanted it to be like this. He had wanted her to Flip with him as he made love to her. Her pain would have been minimum, and change incredibly fast. He would have revealed the wonders of their world to her newly acquired eyes. That was the way it was meant to be for their people.

But instead, she had held it off for too long. Some instinct of human self-preservation had kicked in, and had kept her from acknowledging the wolf within weeks ago. She had felt the changes in her body, had experienced the warnings. He had sensed the changes, but hadn't realized how far advanced she really was. He had thought that he had more time to convince her.

But now the Flip had been triggered the hard way, and it might just kill her, if he didn't get her past this ridiculous and dangerous fear of the Change. 

Despite the extreme pain that she was experiencing, Sophia managed to fight her way back to the surface. She sensed Luke's presence in the room, before she actually saw him.

She had never been so relieved to see someone in her whole life. 

Luke was crouched over her. Holding on to both of her wrists gently but firmly with the intent of restraining her again if she started to fight.

"Luke?' Sophia hardly recognized the sound of her own voice, it was hoarse, and her throat was sore. 

"Shh, it's okay," Luke let go of one of her wrists to gently push back a damp tendril of hair from her pale face. Jaw flexing as he saw the raw agony reflected in her flaring eyes.

Sophia felt some of her pain ease at his touch. Her eyes flickered, trying to bring him to focus.

Needless to say, the first thing she saw was that he was naked. But she didn't care anymore, she had always loved his body, although she would never admit it. There was no doubt that he was beautiful, no matter what skin he wore.

Sophia focused in on the mark that was bled steadily from his chest. It looked liked a wild animal had clawed him, and she had a sinking suspicion that the wild animal had been her. She swallowed painfully as she shifted her pain-racked body on the bed. Trying to relieve some of it. She didn't know how much longer she could fight this. Didn't know how much longer she could stay sane.

It was then that Sophia realized that Luke wasn't the only one naked. Her eyes widened in shock and mortification, as she tried to scoot away from Luke's hungry gaze. Surely he didn't plan to… The panicked thought was cut short as Luke's hand latched on to her bare shoulder. Anchoring her in pace.

"Sophia, relax! It isn't what you think. Your clothes had to come off to keep from interfering with your Flip." Luke's tone was harder than he intended. He couldn't believe she had thought that he was going to try to do something to her now, now that the Change had started. As much as he would have wanted it to be so, Sex wasn't going to fix this. Not since it had all started to happen on its own. 

He had to get her through her Flip in a completely different way now. And he needed her to trust him.

Sophia closed her eyes tightly, embarrassed at these change of events. Her embarrassment faded quickly though, when her body suddenly convulsed hard. She arched her back sharply off the mattress, as Luke made a grab for her hands. Her back slammed back hard enough on the mattress to knock the air from her lungs in an ear shattering scream.

She curled into herself, nails drawing blood from her own forearms, before Luke took a hold of her, stopping her from hurting herself further. She almost wanted to rip the skin from her bones. She felt like she was going mad. She wanted it to stop. She wanted it to end. 

She wanted to die.

Luke sensed the surge of hopelessness deflate Sophia's spirit. Knew that wasn't something he could allow.

"Sophia, listen to me!" He turned Sophia back towards him, shaking her firmly to force her to open her eyes and look at him. "Listen to me! You can't fight the Change anymore, Sophia. You _have _to let go. You have to allow yourself to Flip. You don't need to be ashamed of this. You've got to do it , or it'll kill you!"

Sophia shook her head slightly, "No, I can't. I can't do this, Luke. I can't live like this."

"Yes you can!" Luke's eyes locked with Sophia's as he half hauled her up and off the bed. "You're strong, Sophia. You _can _Flip, and this pain will all be over, if you will just allow yourself to give in. Don't fight it anymore. That's why you're in so much pain. Let it go, Sophia, give in to it." Luke's grip on her upper arms tightened, "Let the Change happen."

Sophia's head fell back weakly. "I don't think I can, Luke."

Luke gently supported the back of her head, as he placed her back down on the mattress. "Then I will just have to show you how."

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Sarah Mclachlan, "Fear"  From the Album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Which is the perfect song for this upcoming scene. Get the album if you don't have it You'll see what I mean!)

Without hesitation, Luke pressed one hand up against the side of Sophia's face, His other hand gathered up one of hers, and, intertwining their fingers, brought it up to rest against his heart. His eyes locked securely with her weak gaze, as she struggled to stay conscious.

He matched her breaths to his. Her heartbeat to his. He felt his eyes start to flame gold, as his wolven senses began to open up completely to her. Luke sought her mind through their private mental link. As he made the initial contact, the world around them faded away.

And he was in.

_They were standing alone, side by side together in the moonlit forest of Sophia's vision. Their breath misting in the cool air._

_Sophia felt the calm of the forest invade her spirit. The pain of the Change was  pushed away into a far recess of her mind. It seemed like that was happening to a completely different person. She didn't have to feel that pain anymore._

_Luke glided slowly in behind her, hands coming to rest on her hips, as he pulled her body closer to his warmth. Skin to Skin. He wrapped his arms comfortably around her smooth waist. Feeling the softness of her flesh against his palms._

_Sophia leaned her head comfortably back against Luke's chest, letting out a sigh, as she placed her hands over his. She wasn't sure if this he was really there or not, but grateful for the mirage presented if it was all a dream._

_"Listen," Luke whispered softly as he licked Sophia's shoulder, tasting her skin. Urging her to listen to the wolves singing._

_They were close, and coming closer. Their beautiful howls and wails sending chills of anticipation throughout Sophia's body, as she craned her head around, looking into the shadows to uncover them. They were calling to her._

_They appeared out of the mist. Melted out from the trees. Eyes glowing and luxurious pelts shinning in the moonlight. Whispers of thoughts and invitations gently flooded into Sophia's newly developed mind link. The pack circled the couple, dancing closer and closer until Sophia could feel their warm breath against her slender legs. Their fur sliding against her skin. Her sense of touch was magnified as she felt Luke's body pressing into her back, protecting her. Sharing with her the wonder of their world._

_Sleek, warm muzzles nuzzled their interlaced fingers, as if begging  for them to come and run with them._

_ They were all waiting for…something._

_Sophia knew that she should  be frightened. Knew that she should be trying to fight this. But it was so beautiful. And Luke was there, keeping her safe. Promising her endless wonders in this strange but familiar world._

_"Don't you see, Sophia?" he whispered softly against her nape. "This is where you belong. This is your journey, your home. Your destiny."_

_Sophia whimpered softly, as Luke gently licked up the side of her neck, gently nibbling her ear. He sent her another vision. This one of them entwined together under the moonlight. Loving each other. A mating of their bodies as well of their souls. She saw flashes of them rolling together under the thick foliage. Hands stroking, and fingers entwining. She saw them running together under the full moon in wolf form. Chasing one another through the woods. No one else in the world existing in this place and time._

_Sophia felt the wolf within her pull closer to the surface. She wasn't fighting it anymore. She wanted it to happen. Needed it to happen._

_The image flickered out, leaving them in the forest, him at her back, the wolves around them watching…and waiting. _

_Sophia turned slowly around to face Luke, her arms wrapping themselves tentatively around his neck, bringing their bodies close together. Luke just gazed at her. Waiting for her to acknowledge the fire between them. She pressed her lips softly to his in  a slow, sweet kiss that reminded her of her dream a few days back, when she had imagined what it would be like to Flip in Luke's arms. _

_His tongue ran gently over the seam of her mouth, tasting her, before traveling lower to lave and nibble at her pulse at the base of her jaw. Tasting her heart beat on his tongue._

_Sophia threw her head back and something wild within her lifted its head in triumph. _

_Luke brought his head back up to smile softly. Watching the flickering gold dancing in her eyes. This time from desire. His palms gently cupped the sides of her face as his thumbs lovingly stroked her cheeks. Tilting her head to the side to gaze at him, and see the responding flickers in his own. Wanting her to not be afraid of him. No matter what form he was in._

_"Look…" He motioned softly with his head, glancing behind her at something she couldn't see. Sophia turned to see  all the wolves still gathered there, waiting for something to happen. Motion stirred from within their ranks, and they parted aside as a wolf made from the  mist came forward and out of the pack. Padding on silent paws towards Sophia._

_Sophia suddenly felt cold air at her back as Luke stepped aside, smiling assuredly at her. This next part she would have to do on her own._

_She turned back to watch the wolf stand expectantly in front of her, and she realized suddenly that this wolf was her. This was the wolf inside her. Sitting there, waiting for Sophia to either condemn them both, or accept what was, and join their two distinct natures into a melding that would set them both free._

_She recognized the wolf. Saw flashes of the two of them growing up, side by side, but only one of them visible to the rest of the world. _

_She saw the wolf patiently trying to wait for Sophia to come to this conclusion on her own, before finally trying to claw itself free, and into that visible world. _

_This nature had always been there, Sophia realized. This had always been her. No amount of fighting would change that. She would only be fighting herself._

_Sophia remembered the sensation of running with Luke the image had provoked, and she turned to look at him, only to see that he had shed his human skin for his wolf pelt. He was standing there, watching her, waiting for her to make her choice._

_'Sophia…' _

 _She closed her eyes as she heard him softly call her name. She tilted her face into the breeze that had suddenly kicked up, and was stirring around her nude form, blowing her hair back form her face. She turned back to the wolf of mist standing before her, and made her decision._

Slowly reaching her hand out, her fingers met the wolf, and the mist turned to fur under her hand, and a light from within them both exploded into a brilliant blindness….. 

Luke yanked his hand away from Sophia's forehead, as the white brilliance severed their connection. Weakness almost overcame him as he tried to keep from passing out. He had held the mental link longer than he had thought possible. He leaned away from Sophia, giving her plenty of room, as she literally seemed to explode from within. He watched the transformation take place.

Sophia's cry echoes hoarsely as her human body gave up it's fight, and allowed the wolf within her to release. She felt the bones in her body shifting and twisting to make way for her new skin. It hurt, but the pain was different than before. It came with the promise of the release of the pressure that had built within her, and in doing so, bordered almost on pleasure.

Sophia felt her skin twist and replace itself with fur. Felt her front teeth lengthen into canines, Felt her human senses fall away, and replaced with that of the Wolf. Her cry changed into a brief howl, as her transformation completed itself, and her Flip ended.

She had one moment of sudden clarity as she experienced her new abilities, and the strange sensations they caused her in this new but powerful body, before the darkness brought on by her exhausting battle swelled up and covered her in its black, soothing cloak. Sending her into oblivion. Her last thought being of the feeling of Luke running his fingers through her newly acquired pelt.

Luke sat there in silence, as he studied Sophia's new form. She was perfectly formed, from the black pads of her feet, to the delicate tips of her finely sculpted ears, to the slender shape of her muzzle, to the brilliant color of her eyes. She was panting hard, even after passing out from the strain of the first Flip.

He regrettably took his hand away from her thick fur, as she unconsciously shifted back into her human skin. A fine film of moisture coating her body, and making it shimmer in the muted light from the room.

Luke slid off the bed, standing unsteadily back on his feet. His head was already starting to pound, and he knew he would have a nasty hangover tomorrow. But he had accomplished what he had wanted.

Sophia was alive, and she had finally Flipped. Granted, it had happened differently then he had originally believed it would. But he wasn't knocking the experience. 

Luke carefully wrapped Sophia's nude body up in the discarded sheet from the bed, and carrying her in his arms, exited the bedroom.

Sherman was calmly sitting where he had been when Luke had left, and glancing over at a clock, Luke realized that almost three hours had past. The mind merge had made the time fly by. He was mildly surprised that the Sheriff had managed to restrain himself from barging in on them, but he was grateful he hadn't. Severing a connection like that from the outside, would have been highly dangerous for both Luke and Sophia. And although he figured Matt didn't really care what happened to him, he didn't want to do anything that would risk his daughter.

Matt stopped his pacing as Luke stepped quietly into the room. His face went pale with relief that Sophia wasn't in any pain, but then concern, because she wasn't moving.

"She's okay," Luke answered Matt when he started to open his mouth. "She just passed out. She'll be fine now, we just need to get her home."

Matt didn't have to ask whether or not she had flipped, he could smell the scent of the transformation clinging to her skin.

Luke didn't wait for any acknowledgment from Matt, he just carried Sophia out the door, and situated her in the truck. Still cradling her in his lap. Matt watching him through the rearview mirror the whole way home. Luke didn't care what the older man was thinking, he just leaned his head back against the seat, and closed his eyes. The night's activities draining him almost as much as they had drained Sophia.

No words were spoken when Luke carried her into the house, and upstairs to her room. Placing her on the bed, he made sure she was comfortable as he covered her with one of her quilts. But it didn't slip past Matt the way Luke tenderly touched Sophia, or caressed her cheek before exiting the room.

"You're welcome to make use of the couch." Matt offered stiffly, he had a good feeling the boy wasn't planning on going far from Sophia, and thought that the couch would be a better alternative than outside on Sophia's porch.

Luke nodded his head in thanks as he walked down the steps into the living room. He didn't care what Matt was thinking at the moment, he was more concerned with the situation at hand. Tonight had revealed an unexpected circumstance that he hadn't been prepared for.

Before, when he had thought about Sophia flipping, he had always imagined her as a lighter gray version of himself. But she never ceased to amaze him. Or completely confuse him.

Tonight she had shifted into the rarest and most desired color of them all. And the problems that this might implicate for the both of them wasn't something Luke wasn't aware of. 

Sophia wasn't aware of the significance of tonight. What had been revealed not only to him, but would eventually reveal itself to the rest of the pack. And he wasn't sure if he was looking forward to informing her or not.

Sophia was white. A pure, snow white wolf. And what that meant to Wolf Lake and to him, was too overwhelming to think about.

***************************************** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion- Staind, "It's Been Awhile" on the Album "Break The Cycle"  for the next scene, perfect song to fit John's longing for Ruby)

John Kanin tilted his head up into the flow of his showerhead, as he allowed the water to pour down over his body. Easing the ache in his arm left from the transfusion needle placed there. The streaks of blood, his and the wolf's, was washed away from his skin. 

This night definitely ranked up there with one of the weirdest spent in Wolf Lake, and believe it, that list was getting fairly long. 

He had come here to search for Ruby. He knew she was near. It was like he could feel her. He could feel her pain. He knew she was in Wolf Lake and that Tyler had her. He had never liked that guy, and he now knew why. The evidence had always been right there in front of him. 

Tyler was holding Ruby against her will, somewhere, and giving John some rather subtle hints to leave town fast.

John gritted his teeth in frustration, as he slammed his palms against the shower wall. He was positive now that it was Tyler that had tried to kill him in Lenore's cabin. Tyler knew John was getting closer, and he was getting more desperate.

John didn't understand why the whole town was protecting Ruby's whereabouts. He knew they were all in on it, even Sophia. 

Whatever cult they had going on up here ran deep, and it ran with the blood of anyone who stood in their way. 

John squeezed his eyes tight as memories of Ruby danced around in his mind. He ached for her. Longed to touch her, to hear her voice. He could still remember her taste…

John slammed off the showerhead, and stepped out of the stall, grapping a towel as he went, briskly rubbing himself dry. He couldn't allow these people to dry him crazy, not when he was this close.

He wasn't too sure that he believed tonight's incident was as guilt free from the town as they would have him believe. That imbecile knew he was looking for Ruby, had used that to lure him into his RV.

And the next thing he knew, he was hooked up to an IV, being pumped full of blood from that white wolf, who seemed to have it just as bad in this town as him.

John flipped the light switch in his hotel room off, and bundling the towel up into a ball, threw it into a remote corner. He collapsed, completely nude, on his bed. He felt too hot to bother putting on clothes. His arm was starting to ache.

He didn't want to think about the implications of having wolf blood poured into his system. He didn't know much about medical science, but something told him having a pint or more of animal blood pumped into him wasn't a very healthy thing.

That was another thing. He wasn't sure how much blood had gotten into his system. He originally had thought it wasn't that much, because the white female wolf didn't appear to be that weak, when he had released her from the cage and back into the woods. He had wanted to free her from Tyler, in the same way he wanted to free Ruby.

But now he wasn't so certain. His head was beginning to pound, and he was beginning to feel lethargic. He thought he might be running a fever.

John tossed restlessly on the bed, as he slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

He was standing in the woods. Facing the white wolf. Her gray eyes focused on him, as if trying to tell him something. Flashes started to come. Flashes of him and Ruby together. Flashes of the moonlit forests surrounding them. Of looking through the wolf's eyes as she ran, trying to outdistance something or someone.

_He saw himself running with her, bare feet slapping soundlessly through the underbrush, breath caught in his throat as he struggled to keep pace with her. He couldn't see what was chasing her, chasing them, but he couldn't let it hurt her._

_He could hear the white wolf's howls in his mind, encouraging him to keep up. Encouraging him to join her._

_The next thing he knew, John was on all fours, this time running on black padded paws, fur the color of obsidian covering him, his breath easing into pants as he came abreast of the white female._

_ They were running side by side now, fur brushing against each other, the sound of each other's hearts beating in their ears._

They kept running, even though they sensed that their pursuer was long gone. They kept running for the joy of it. They were one. 

John shot upright on the mattress, the images still burning in his mind, so that, for a moment, he wasn't sure if he was in his motel room or in the forest. In wolf form, or human.

Sweat poured off his body, and as his eyes finally focused, he looked around the room, moonlight enabling him to see everything, just to make sure there wasn't a certain white wolf there, watching him from the corner.

The dream was still all too real. He was breathing hard, his heart pounding, as if he really had been running for miles over rather rocky terrain. 

He shook his head slightly in an attempt to clear it. That was it. The stress was finally getting to him. 

And this time, it wasn't because of something Blackstone had spiked his soup with.

John laid back down on the mattress, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to slow his heartbeat down from its mad pace. Trying to calm his mind.

The craziness of the town was starting to affect him. Blackstone's silly stories of Skinwalkers were affecting his judgment. He relied on facts to solve his cases. Not crazy superstitions and folklore.

He would find Ruby using his brain, and relying on solid facts. And once he found her, they both would get the hell out of this crazy town, and really run far enough away that "they" could never take her from him again.

John lay there awake for some time, before finally drifting off to sleep. He probably wouldn't have felt so confident about his so-called facts, if he had looked in the mirror. For if he had, he would have seen that his eyes were glowing a rather strange shade of gold, and that his ability to see everything in the room, wasn't because of the full moon outside his window. 

He had drawn the curtains tight.

Right outside his room, a certain white wolf began to sing out her cry.

*********************************************** 

To Be Continued in the next episode, entitled "Eyes of Gold." Coming soon. Please review, and tell me what you think!


	2. Ep 11, Eyes Of Gold

Chapter Two, "Eyes of Gold"

Author's Note – Picks up the morning after in "Wolven Behavior"

Brief summery – Sophia tries to deal with having flipped, while John edges closer and closer to his own demons, and the truth of Wolf Lake.

****** 

Dawn was breaking outside her room in Wolf Lake. The coolness of the passing night misting on her windows as the moon bid farewell in the wake of the rising sun's birth. Birds would be chirping soon. The town would be awakened. A new world was awaiting her that would be both frightening as well as liberating. 

 Luke leaned over Sophia as she slept soundly. He was still naked from the previous night. His clothes forgotten on some side of the road where he had left them, when he had flipped in order to track Sophia down quicker. Modesty wasn't exactly a virtue when it came to being a Skinwalker. His gaze heated briefly. He still remembered what her form looked like underneath that twisted sheet he had wrapped her in from Sherman's house.

He studied her facial features. Noting that she was no longer pale or drawn from the events that had taken place just a few hours ago. He watched her breathe. He could smell the Change on her. Knew that the moment she got around other members of the pack, that they would smell it as well. She could hide from herself, but not from him. And not from the Pack. Not anymore.

Luke reached out a hand to stroke her richly toned hair back from her cheek. Careful not to wake her. The previous night had been rough on them both. Sophia's destiny had been revealed to him last night, and it wasn't going to be easy for either of them when the rest of the pack found out what that destiny was.

The legend had gone back for hundreds of years, regardless of the location or time period. Legend of the white female wolf. They were a rarity among their kind. Only a few had been borne down through the ages. Always during a time of struggle. Always when there was an extreme danger represented to the Pack, did the white wolf appear. That had been why the Elders couldn't have allowed Ruby to pursue her life with a human. The white wolf was revered as well as prized. They were the strongest of their females. Not only physically, but mystically. It was destined that whoever was mated to the white wolf, would have a place in history as a Leader among leaders. 

Which meant that when word got out that Sophia was white, she would have every unattached male, and then some, sniffing around her tail. Whether she liked it or not.

And Luke's life had just become increasingly difficult. She was his. She belonged with him. But there were others that wouldn't see it that way.

Luke came back to an even bigger issue. Never in the history of their clan, had _two_ white females been born within the same century. This could mean that an even bigger danger was ahead for their Pack. Something bigger than any of them had every faced before…

****** 

Sophia grimaced as the sun shining through her curtains, hit her right in the face. Pulling her out of the thick fog her mind seemed to be wrapped up in. She squeezed her eyes tighter, and burrowed her face into her pillow. The events of the previous night coming back to haunt her.

Despite her newly acquired healing abilities, there wasn't a place on her that didn't ache. She couldn't remember having ever felt this sore. Every muscle cramped and protested, as she shifted uncomfortably on her bed. An unfamiliar sheet twisting and scratching against her legs. Despite how uncomfortable she was, it felt almost like relief. _Anything _after last night was damn well bliss after _that_ pain.

Sophia remembered then what she had done. The memories of that… that _dream, _or whatever it was that Luke had shared with her was still very fresh in her mind. She could still feel the crushed leaves under her bare feet, the feeling of Luke's naked body pressed up close against the line of her bare back. Skin to Skin. The sight of their breath misting in the night air. The sight of the wolves circling them, brushing up against them…

Sophia moaned, and slid further down into the sheets, burying her head under the comfort. Noticing that she was still naked from the previous night. Luke must have wrapped her in the sheet, before bringing her home, or at least she hoped so! Heaven knew where her clothes were! 

She thought back to that wolf that was her. The one made from the surrounding mist. She remembered the feel of her hand burying itself deep in its fur. 

She remembered Flipping. The Change.

Sophia opened her eyes and sighed. Studying the imprint of her comfort's pattern from underneath it. Her life had just become even more difficult than it had been before. 

Before, she had been the half-breed that probably didn't have enough Skinwalker DNA, to so much as resist the urge to eat red meat. 

Now, she was the half-breed that had finally managed to Flip… and with Lucas Cates. Despite the fact that it hadn't happened in the way it usually did between a male and female of their species – yeah, she admitted it, _species_ – it wouldn't make any difference to the rest of the Pack, or the "hill" kids. They would probably smell him on her, and automatically assume…  

Sophia groaned, pressing her hand over her eyes. And the full-blooded humans thought _their_ adolescence was hard! 

Sophia tossed back the comfort, and looked at the clock next to her bed. It was close to 11:00 a.m. She didn't remember the last time she had slept that long.

She could smell the fragrance of bacon cooking, and realized that her Dad had already figured out that she was awake, and was preparing breakfast.

Sophia smiled at the image. She might as well go on down to see him. She figured he had to have been half out of his mind last night with worry. And truth be told, she was kinda hungry. Well, actually… she was _ravenous_. 

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Jerry Cantrell, "She Was My Girl" on the album Degradation Trip or Spider-man Soundtrack. I don't know, there is just something about this song's chorus lines that reminded me of John and his thoughts of Ruby. Don't ask me to explain it! It seems a good song for the frustration that John is feeling in this next part.)

The door going out of John's motel room slammed shut behind him as he exited the room. Throwing his black leather jacket on over the white polo shirt and jeans stretched taut over his form. He stalked over to his motorcycle and paused a moment before swinging a leg over, and revved the engine.

He sped out of the small parking lot, leaving tread behind. He had to get out of this town for a while, just so he could breathe around the frustration that was building within him to the breaking point. He would head up some of the twisty deserted roads he had seen. Where there was little traffic, and he could escape his demons with his bike underneath him, and nothing but the speed to occupy his thoughts.

He made a rather quick exit out of the town. It wasn't quite lunch hour yet, so there wasn't much traffic. Really the only vehicle he passed on the way out was a battered old navy blue van entering into Wolf Lake. John briefly acknowledged that he had never seen it before. Before ignoring it altogether. The cold wind whipped and lashed at his body, penetrating the thin layers of his clothes. But oddly, he didn't feel cold at all. If anything, the weight of his leather jacket was starting to become heavy and cumbersome. He wanted to take it off, but that would require coming to a stop… he didn't want to stop. He felt like riding this thing for the rest of his life. Better yet, he felt like going back over to Tyler Creed's place, smashing that punk's face in, and demanding that he tell him where Ruby was. John's jaw tightened as a felt a swell of unspent aggression swell up. Tyler was going to get what was coming to him sooner or later. John just had to be patient, find Ruby, and come up with a plan. Not necessarily in that order.

Soon John was out of Wolf Lake, and it was almost like he could feel a weight release from around his chest. The frustration eased, even though his heart grew heavy. He wanted Ruby with him on that bike. The memory of her still haunted him like ghosts of an old realm that he could never completely leave behind. It was an ache that had only increased since he had arrived in this god-forsaken town. Every day he spent there was more frustrating than the last. He knew he was getting closer, pulling nearer to his goal. He could feel it in his bones. But every day he spent in Wolf Lake was becoming more and more dangerous. Granted he was a cop, and was quite used to getting shot at. But since coming here, there had been more attempts on his life than he cared to think about. And his dreams.. they were becoming more powerful now, As if something or some_one_ was calling to him. And that desire to go was getting stronger by the minute. 

When was it all going to end? Or better yet, _how _was it going to end?

John pushed the treacherous thoughts out of his mind, and hitting a rather breakneck speed on the deserted highway, he left those thoughts buried in the dust kicked up behind him.

 Alone with his bike, the speed, and the ghosts of Ruby's memory…

****** 

Sophia sighed as she slid into place at their dining room table. Leaning her elbows on the table to rest her chin on her hands, as she watched her father scurry around the kitchen. Humor turning up the corner of her mouth as she watched him burn his finger on the frying pan in his haste to get the bacon and eggs off before they became too blackened. Matt turned around to grab an oven mitt, when he noticed that Sophia had come down.

"Baby, hi." Matt smiled a little nervously. Not too sure how to go about this. He hesitantly  walked over to Sophia, and knelt down at her side. Bringing himself eye level with her.

"How are you feeling?" Concern filled his eyes, as well as a little fear.

Sophia smiled reassuringly at him. "I'm fine, Dad. Or… as well as can be expected."

Silence descended uncomfortably  in the kitchen, as Matt searched for the words to say to his daughter. What she had gone through last night, had to have been hell. It had driven him crazy… not knowing how she was doing behind that locked bedroom door. 

"Uh, Dad?" Sophia questioned, bringing Matt back to the present, smiling wryly at him. "I think the kitchen is on fire."

"Hmm?" Matt looked back at his daughter. What she had said not fully registering, until he followed her line of sight to the flying pan filled with what _was _Sophia's breakfast, smoking and small flames having erupted within it.

"Geez!" Matt jumped up and ran back into the kitchen, still looking for the oven mitt. He gave up on that, when the flames suddenly shot high, hitting the cabinets above it. Matt made a grab for the fire extinguisher sitting by the stove, and white foam erupted all over the cook top. Smothering the flames, and making Sophia's now-burnt beyond belief breakfast, completely covered in the stuff.

"Of all the…" Matt tossed the fire extinguisher to the side, and sighed. He turned around to see Sophia crack up and start to laugh. Tears of mirth shining in her eyes. Matt put his hands on his hips and glared back at her, not amused. 

It just made Sophia laugh harder.

The corner of Matt's mouth started to turn up when he realized just how funny this scene must look like. He could feel a few flecks of foam dribbling down his face and clothes. Matt started to chuckle at the sight of his daughter barely able to keep from falling out of her chair.

"All right, All right!" He laughed. "Quite making fun of your old man." Matt looked around the kitchen to figure out what to do next. "I'll just make some toast or something."

"Fine," she chuckled, "But let me call the fire department first." Sophia teased. Glad that they could go back to being a normal father and daughter couple, if only for a little while.

"Very cute." Matt glowered. "Tell you what, I'll run into town and pick something up that doesn't need to be prepared, and be back in about 30 minutes. Sound safer?"

Sophia nodded. Still grinning. "Fine, it'll give me a chance to take a shower and dress." She had just thrown on her big terry cloth robe before coming downstairs. Not even wanting to exert the strength it would take to get dressed. But now… she wasn't feeling as weak as she had when she had woken up. Her body didn't feel as battered as before.

"Alright, I'll just go then." Matt grabbed the keys, but Sophia stopped him before he stepped out of the kitchen.

"Dad? When did Luke leave?" Sophia's voice was a little bit more timid than a few minutes ago. She knew her Dad still had a hard time, dealing with Luke.

Matt turned back around to look at his daughter and sighed. He had wondered how long it was going to take her to ask that question.

"I don't know. He crashed on the couch after putting you to bed, and then he was gone when I was up early this morning." Matt didn't ad that he had been grateful that the kid had left. He hadn't wanted to deal with him when Sophia had woken up.

Sophia nodded at his words. A little disappointed that Luke had left without saying goodbye. She noticed that her dad was still standing there, as if uncertain to leave her.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, if I run into town?" Matt asked. Studying his daughter's face. Knowing what she was thinking.

"Yes, Dad." Sophia answered, pretending to be exasperated. "I'll be fine. Go on."

Matt smiled at her, before exiting the room. Sophia heard the front door quietly open and then close. She leaned her head back against the back of the chair and sighed.

****** 

"Would you mind telling me, Tyler, how you managed to lose Ruby, yet again?" Vivian Cates sat calmly at her desk. Her eyes at the brink of glowing in contradiction to the almost civilized and cool way she spoke her words. She smiled humorlessly as Tyler swallowed nervously from across the room.

"I told you, it wasn't my fault. That human ungulate interfered yet again!"

"Oh of course. Forgive me." Vivian's tone was mocking. "I guess you and your buddies, who are all of the Blood, couldn't possibly control a single female, that you yourself took as a mate! From the human who is currently searching for her! She should be in your bed, Tyler! Not running around God knows where, doing God knows what!" Vivian slowly stood. Her stance threatening and dominant as she continued.

"If this human male succeeds in finding Ruby, then I'm going to have a lot a questions that are going to need answering. And I don't want that, Tyler. I am not the ruler that my husband was. I won't just turn the other cheek and let Ruby run wild. She _has _to remain in Wolf Lake, with her own kind. I told you if you didn't get things under control, I would take matters into my own hands. What the hell do you think is going to happen if Ruby reveals herself to that human? What then? You know the Law, and Ruby has broken it time and time again. I will not stand for this kind of threat posed at the Pack."

Tyler glared back at her. "She is not a threat! Ruby wouldn't do anything that would endanger us! She's proved that time and time again." Tyler sighed, rubbing his forehead in agitation. "I'll find her, I swear. And this time she won't escape from me."

"She better not," Vivian shot back. "It isn't going to be very nice if I have to plan a double execution, Tyler." 

Tyler's eyes glowed gold at that rather obviously veiled threat. Without saying another word, he stalked out of the room. The door slamming behind him.

Vivian let out a sigh as she sank back down into the chair. Shaking her head. She had become the Alpha of the pack to protect her son, and to keep someone like Tyler from completely destroying what the Alpha Leaders before them had created for their kind. They had it good here in Wolf Lake, if she could just keep it all together. 

Willard had been an amazing leader for his time, but that time was past. They were sinking back into the dark days, when the Alpha Leader had to rule with the bite of his teeth, and the rip of his claws. 

It was becoming a dangerous time for them all. John Kanin had brought in some unnecessary exposure to the humans living in Wolf Lake, and the rise of technology was becoming an increasing threat to them all. That werewolf hunter had almost succeeded in exposing them all. And heaven knew what he had filled John Kanin's mind with.

And then there was Ruby… Beautiful, head strong, in love with a human, Ruby. If it wasn't for her significance to the pack, Vivian would have either killed her, or allowed her to marry John Kanin a long time ago. There had been others that had married into the human race, obviusly. There had even been some that had left Wolf Lake and their heritage behind.

But that was before the survival of the pack became paramount. Ruby, because of her significance, had to remain with the Pack. Dead or alive.

Like it or not, there numbers had dwindled, and they weren't as strong as before. If the humans found out about them, they would lose everything. Their homes, their families…their lives. And there were so many threats posed to them at this time, that Vivian didn't know which one to tackle first. 

And she didn't know that, once things had started down that path… if they could even be reversible.

****** 

Sophia turned on the shower head, and slowly pulled off her robe. As her bathroom started to fill with steam. She studied her reflection in the mirror. It wasn't like she had always done before. She wasn't checking to see how much her breasts had changed, or how tucked in her waist had become, or how smooth the curve to her hip was. This time, she was looking for other differences. Differences that had occurred last night. Differences that she could actually see.

Her skin almost seemed to have a glow to it now. The muscles along her stomach, arms and legs were more defined. Rippling under her skin, like she worked out at the local gym everyday, even though she had never even stepped foot inside it. Her hair was thicker. More luxurious in texture as well as color. Her fingernails, which she had never been able to grow out very much, were now long and rounded as if she had had them professionally done. Her mouth was fuller, a golden flush filled her cheeks, and her eyes… despite the fact that she could no longer wear her glasses, her brown eyes had lightened slightly. Where they were now almost a honey brown, then the chocolate color from before. Sophia tested herself as she willed them to change. Watching as they flared brilliant gold before receding back to normal.

Something told her that the rest of the Pack wouldn't have a very hard time figuring out that she had flipped. Assuming of course, that Luke hadn't already told them.

Sophia frowned at that thought, and turned away from the mirror. Stepping into the shower.

****** 

Ruby didn't know where she was going. She was just running.

She had remained in her wolf form since last night. Unwilling to change back into a human body. Things were less complicated that way. Less real. Pain of the heart was muted. Memories of the mind were dulled.

Her strong pants rang in her ears as she kept running. Twisting and turning underneath the underbrush. Darting under and between fallen trees, as she fought to keep the speed going. Things were simpler this way. This was who she was. _What_ she was. 

She didn't want to go back to Wolf Lake. She wanted to find John and get out of here. Run far, far away so they could never be found. But she knew that was just a dream. She knew what would really happen.

Humans were afraid of what they couldn't understand. And her greatest fear would be that John would be the same way. She loved him with every fiber of her being, and she knew that he loved her. She clung to that. It was the only thing that had kept her alive since returning to Wolf Lake. But her greatest fear was that, if she revealed herself to him, that he would hate her, revile her. Find her a freak of nature. Lock her up in some cage like that twisted human Arthur Van Halen character had done.

The point was, if he wound up hating her for what she was, she would never be able to live with herself. It wasn't possible for a member of their species, to not share both of their skins with their mates. In order to be with him, he had to be with _all_ of her. Not just the part she wanted him to see.

Ruby felt a small wail well up in her wolven throat. She suppressed it. Everything was so screwed up. She didn't know which way was up anymore. There was only one thing she was certain of… Here and now, if only for a little while, she could be free of those chains wrapped so tightly around her. Here and now, she was only aware of the pounding of her paws on the carpeting of the earth, and the sound of her heartbeat in her ears.

****** 

Luke hesitated before stepping into the opening of the still messed up front door, of Sherman Blackstone's house. He could hear the older man banging around in the kitchen, as he prepared his lunch. The smell of turkey wafted into his nostrils, and his stomach growled. He just realized that he hadn't had anything to eat all day. He had been too wrapped up in his thoughts on Sophia to be concerned with food.

Sherman must have realized he was standing there, right inside the doorway, because he spoke up from inside the kitchen.

"Well, just don't stand there. Come on in and have something to eat with me."

Luke sauntered on into the kitchen and sat down at the breakfast nook. Smiling his thanks as Sherman set a turkey sandwich in front of him. Luke took a few bites, trying to figure out how to broach the subject that was weighing heavily on his mind.

Sherman just watched him, before speaking up himself. The boy was about as obvious as he could be as to why he had come. Something bigger than Sophia's Flip had happened last night, just like Sherman had realized it would. The girl was too special, to have not been someone gifted strongly in the ways of the Skinwalker. 

"How is Sophia doing?"

Luke looked up at Sherman for a moment before answering. "She's fine. Physically. Something tells me she's going to find it very difficult to adapt to her 'lifestyle' ."

"That 'lifestyle', as you put it, was always there. She just now has uncovered it." Sherman corrected softly. Smiling as he pulled a bit of lettuce from his own sandwich. "I wouldn't worry about it too much. She's stronger than she thinks."

"I know that." Luke said sharply. Staring at Sherman as the older man made no more comments. Just sat there eating. Luke wanted to shake him. His eyes narrowed, as he suspected that Sherman knew more than he was letting on.

"She's a white wolf." Luke voice was hard as he dropped the bomb. Sherman just stood there, nodding his head and eating his sandwich as if Luke had only just mentioned the weekly forecast.

Luke felt a growl of frustration rise in his throat. Sherman just smirked. The boy's emotions regarding the young girl were painted all over his face. Those two would make a very entertaining couple to watch.

"You know, it's a funny thing about legends and myths." He finally spoke up, wiping his mouth with a paper napkin as he made sure he had the young boy's complete attention before continuing. His message cryptic in the fact that it wasn't just pointed at Sophia, but at another head strong individual that would be experiencing some changes of his own pretty soon. "They always tend to "pop" up at the oddest times, in the oddest situations – and in the people you would have least suspected."

Luke shook his head in frustration as he watched Sherman finish his sandwich and start on an apple. Crunching away like there was nothing of importance being discussed here. It was only Sophia's future!

"I'm not a seer, Luke." Sherman stated seriously, as if reading Luke's thoughts. "I don't know what is going to happen in the future of Wolf Lake. No one does. I only have the backing of the history of your people to go by, and sometimes, even that isn't enough. The path is darkening, for all of you. And it just might be that Sophia might be the way out of it. For all of you." Sherman sighed as he took another bite from his apple. "Then again, I could be wrong. Like I said. I'm not a seer."

"No, you're just a Keeper with a hell of a lot more information than you're sharing." Luke said back. Rubbing the back of his neck tiredly as he raised his eyebrow at Sherman, waiting for his answer to that one.

Sherman chuckled, "I would be out of a job if I didn't keep a few things to myself." He became serious again. "No Luke, I can't inform you of what I know yet, because I don't know what path Sophia will take. That is a decision completely up to her, and to you, if you decide to take her as a mate, _And,"_ Sherman's voice rose a bit when Luke would have interrupted. "The destiny of the couples in this town are just that. Destiny. I cannot interfere any more than I already have."

"Oh, really? And what have you done that would be considered interfering?"

Sherman just finished his apple. Refusing to answer that question.

Luke sighed in annoyance. "Right, well." He stood up, "I guess I'll leave then." He wasn't going to get any more answers from Sherman today.

"Make sure you take your sandwich." Sherman ordered around chewing the last bite of his apple. He watched as Luke stalked rather unhappily out of his house. Leaving the shattered door open behind him.

Sherman rolled his eyes in exasperation as he tossed the cork of his apple down the garbage disposal. 

What else was going to happen today?

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Tara MacLean, "If I Fall" from the album Passenger . It seemed like the perfect song of what Sophia is feeling in the next scene.)

 Sophia wiped away the fogging on her bathroom mirror, after stepping out of the shower. It was amazing how a bath could make you feel so much more civilized.

Sophia grabbed a comb and started to detangle her hair. A dark red towel wrapped snugly around her body.

She was emotionally trying to sort out the happenings of last night, while at the same time, come to grips in regards to Luke. Last night had been terrifying, dangerous, even deadly. She honestly believed that if it hadn't been for Luke, she wouldn't have survived the night. She knew that the mental link he had created between them wasn't something that was done very often. She would have heard about something like that from the other kids on the 'hill'.

 She also realized that whatever it was that he had done, had been dangerous for him too. But he had risked that, to come in after her, and pull her out of that hell she had found herself in.

Sophia knew that something had changed between them. It wasn't some heated chemistry thing anymore. It had become deeper. More intense. She didn't know how to handle that. She knew she had feelings for Luke, and she hoped that his feelings for her ran deeper than just wanting to screw her. Somehow, she just _knew_ they did. But how could she be with him like her body was crying out for, if she couldn't feel like she could trust him? When the image of him with Presley was burned into her memory like a disgusting brand that would never go away?

 Whether he had meant to or not, he had torn her heart out that night. And she wasn't to sure about handing it back to him again.

But then she remembered that mind link of theirs. Realized that he had risked so much to save her. And she just became even more confused than she was before.

****** 

John slowly pulled over on the side of the road. Pulling his helmet off, and shaking his hair loose. Feeling the strands of hair sticking to his forehead. 

He had gone farther than he had intended, into a stretch of roads that he wasn't that familiar with. Not a very smart move, but at the time, he had only been focused on riding. Clearing his head from all the cobwebs by getting as far from town as he could. He figured though that with a little back tracking, he could head back the way he came, and get back to that town. He had to get back to work. Figure out some way of tracking Ruby down. Then they could leave for good.

Despite all of his training as a police officer, he had neglected to notice that the navy blue van that he had seen entering Wolf Lake, had been following him from a safe distance. Waiting…

****** 

Ruby came to a stop. Panting hard. Her fur bristled slightly as she caught wind of a familiar scent. A human. 

Her own human consciousness rose to the surface, pushing down that of the wolven. She knew that smell. Had bathed in it. Worshipped it.

What was John doing out here, Now? At this time?

Ruby tracked him. Locating him at the side of a deserted road. He looked like he had just stopped for a moment to take a breather. His arms were folded and resting on the handle of his bike. He seemed deep in thought.

Ruby crouched down low. Not wanting him to see her. Knowing that she was far enough away, that so long as she didn't make any sound or sudden move, he wouldn't spot her.

She didn't care how many times she saw him, he still stole her breath. She wanted to shift back into a human skin, run over to him, knock him to the ground and make love to him. Right there in the middle of the road. She wanted to run with him in the forest. Wanted to share her world with him. Reveal who she was to him. Leave this world behind them forever.

It was the thought of the look of fear that would surely fill those eyes so precious to her, that kept her from doing so.

So she settled for this. Watching from the woods like the wolf she was.

She noticed the vehicle before he did, and she became alarmed at how aggressively it was moving towards John. She felt a moment of panic as it slid to a stop in front of him. The passenger door popped open, and the long barrel of a rifle presented itself, aimed squarely at John.

Ruby let out a howl in warning, as she shot up from her position, darting as fast as she could towards the vehicle. She had to stop them! Her instincts took over, and she became the dangerous, primal female that she was, as she watched her true mate's life being threatened.  

****** 

Sophia opened the door of her bathroom, and walked into her bedroom. The towel still wrapped firmly around her. Another towel in her hands, absent-mindedly rubbed her still damp hair with it. Looking around her room for a rubber band to fix it back with.

Sophia started with surprise, dropping the hair towel to the floor, as she saw Luke casually sitting on the edge of her bed. Watching her.

Heart pounding, she took a small step back, as he quickly stood. She was tempted to head back to the bathroom in retreat, when Luke spoke up.

"Sophia, wait! Please."

She turned back around cautiously, as Luke looked at her. His eyes flared gold for a moment, as he acknowledged the fact she had nothing on underneath that dark red towel. Ascertaining for himself that she was physically alright, before answering the question that was on the tip of her tongue. He swallowed. For the first time in 24 hours, he felt really unsure as to how to precede.

"We need to talk."

****** 

John had only one second to react, as he saw the barrel of that rifle zoom in on him. He threw up his arm in reaction to the shot surely coming, and leapt to the side and off his bike. He felt a sudden, hard sting hit his arm, as he body collided with the pavement. He rolled back up to his feet. And was surprised when he felt his balance start to alter. He looked down at his arm, and realized that he had been shot with dart, not a bullet.

Trying to struggle to his feet, John watched two men exit the vehicle, coming towards him slowly. Guns drawn. He couldn't make out there faces. His sight was becoming too blurry. He couldn't focus.

He more heard than saw the white wolf come barreling out from the trees. Snarling and snapping at his attackers. Her growls were intense and would send shivers down any grown man's spine. 

****** 

Her eyes were glowing a brilliant gold from her hatred and the need to feel the sensation of the attackers skin ripping underneath her teeth. She wanted their hearts, and she wasn't going to settle for less till she had them. 

She acknowledged for one brief moment in time that John was down. They had shot him. 

Ruby felt the animalistic scream rip from her wolven throat as her instincts to kill those that had killed her mate took over. Overwhelming any human consciousness still present. They had taken her mate's life away from her, and she was going to escort them straight to hell.

****** 

John struggled to stay conscious as he watched the white wolf tear into the man closest to her. Her snapping jaws aimed straight at his jugular. The man went down beneath her, blood pouring crimson over the pavement, as she tore into his neck. 

A sickening gurgle sounded in what was left of his throat, as she abandoned him, and charged at the second man. Aiming straight for his chest. Planning to tear right through the skin, muscle, and bone to the pulsating organ beneath it.

John heard a scream, and realized it was his own, as he watched the man bring his real gun up in panic, pulling the trigger.  

The shot threw the white wolf clear across the road. She landed with a sickening thud. Red crimson beginning to spread across her snow white fur. 

The last thing John saw was a third man grapping the white wolf's body and throwing it into the back of the vehicle. Then coming to assist his last remaining partner with John's semi-comatose body.

John fought to stay awake. Fought to keep his hatred alive at those that had done this to him. To that wolf, who for some reason had come to his rescue. He had a sudden flashback to his dream. The one where he was running in black wolf form alongside that white female, underneath the moonlight in the forest. Pants misting in the air.

Only this time, the wolf's form was replaced with one even more precious to his heart. She slowed and turned to him, a smile spreading across her face as she laughed. The expression on her face almost embarrassed. Her dark hair flowing out behind her as she looked back at him. Love filling those crystal gray eyes. Her expression teasing, as she beckoned him to come join her.

"Ruby…" her name escaped past his lips in a whisper, as he finally succumbed to the surrounding darkness.

The last thing he was aware of was the pain-wracked whimpers of the wounded wolf….

******  

To Be Continued. 

*************************

I hope you enjoyed Chapter Two, Ep. 11 – Eyes of Gold. 

Don't worry! There's more! The next chapter will be entitled "Blood Moon" and will be coming soon! Please review, and tell me what you thought of this chapter! Tell me what your favorite part was, and feel free to e-mail me with any questions!

I'm going to try to come out with a new chapter at least once every two weeks, if not more often. As I'm also working on another  fan fiction series for Earth: Final Conflict,  I'm going to try not to burn myself out! (grin)

Thanks to everyone who is enjoying my story, and has been so nice in their reviews! Remember to keep them coming! They fuel my muse! LOL

I would also like to hear if anybody likes my whole "Soundtrack Suggestion" thing? Please let me know what you think!

I look forward to hearing from you on the review pages!

(Sapphira)


	3. Ep 12, Blood Moon

Chapter Three, Ep. 12  – "Blood Moon"

Author's Note – Important info – so please read!!!

 I just wanted to say thanks again for all the nice reviews everyone has posted on my chapters, everyone has been so sweet! And I hope you'll all enjoy the third installment, "Blood Moon."

 Please remember to review after finishing it! Those reviews fuel my muse, and gets me to post sooner than I normally would, so keep them coming! (wink) I know most of you have already reviewed the first chapter, but I'd really appreciate if you would review each individual upcoming chapter! My goal is to see this story get over 100 reviews. And I'm more than halfway there, so keep it up! Tell me what your favorite part was, and why. Also, feel free to e-mail me with any questions or comments!

I've had a couple of people point out to me, that after posting a new chapter, they get worried because they don't see a link to that chapter. That's because the chapter was just posted, and although the summery link is saying that there is a new chapter that has been posted, it takes anywhere from 2 to 5 hours before that chapter link is up and running. That isn't something that is just happening with this story, but with all of the new chapters posted all over the site! So don't worry! It'll be there if you just be patient!

Hopefully, everyone thinks I'm still sticking close to the storyline of Wolf Lake, and I'm not getting too out of character with the people in it, while at the same time, giving those characters a chance to sort of evolve and come into their own.

 I'm not just trying to create a finale to the series where there is nothing new happening, but I'm actually trying to create several different new plot lines and complications.  Which is actually what would be happening if the series had been allowed to continue. Sort of like a Virtual Season… Bringing some new characters in, and creating new complex situations to toss our beloved couples in to. Which is the reason why you see every chapter labeled as such and such episode.

Now, I will warn you, I will be delving deeper into the "relationships" between Luke and Sophia, and John and Ruby. I'll be covering… "aspects" of their relationship in more detail, than the TV series did… Which means there will be an increase in rating during those parts, from the overall PG-13 rating that I set for the story. Now, I will put a notice at the beginning of the chapters that will have a little bit more…interaction… in them, to let people know that the rating has gone up. But that will be the extent of your notice. (As if anybody is going to mind *wicked grin*) I guess that is the primary reason we read these things anyway! LOL

I was originally planning on only doing about three or four chapters, and then bringing the story line down to a wrap… but it appears that my muse wasn't completely honest with me! I've gotten involved with these characters, and I'm now loath to leave them! It appears my Muse is going to take me on a ride through Wolf Lake that I wasn't prepared for, and I don't know yet _exactly_ where I'm going to wind up, but it's looking pretty damn good from here!*grin* So I'll keep going with this story till my Muse abandons me for greener pastures, and I'm forced to bring it to a close. But I've already got plot lines laid for the next three chapters at _least_, so I should be able to keep everyone entertained for a while! I have to admit, I'm very pleasantly surprised about the success of this story! 

So continue to let me know how much you enjoy it through your reviews and e-mails, and I'll try to keep writing for ya! But I do plan on wrapping it up within about two to three months or so. Just so you know I'm not _planning_ on dragging my feet about finishing it. Usually, when I find a story I really like, I tend to get very paranoid about whether or not it will be finished. And unfortunately, that paranoia tends to be well justified, as the stories usually aren't. So, for those who've worried about this one… DON"T! IT WILL BE FINISHED!! *whew! Got that off my chest!***** (wiping forehead in relief)

Also, I wanted to mention another series I'm working on for those who are Earth: Final Conflict fans. It's a Howlyn and Renee story. The first one is an alternate ending to the ep. "Death Suite" where Renee doesn't manage to escape from Howlyn quite so easily*evil grin* and is entitled "If Only For One Night." And it is concluding in "Black Fire" which is a _somewhat_ alternate ending to the Series Finale, and continuation of what happens after. Which I'm currently posting chapters on in between working on the Wolf Lake series. I'm not getting as many hits on those two pieces as I would like, so I just wanted to mention it in case one of my Wolf Lake fans out there, just happened to be a fan of EFC, or at least the last season. One who may have given up on the fan fiction based on the series, because there was a serious lack of H/R pieces. Hopefully, I've changed that! (grin)

Also, for those interested, I posted a link in the review pages for Chapter Two, a link to where you guys can get extended plot lines and some scripts of the Wolf Lake series. I've seen some people mention that they only saw one or two eps. And didn't have a way of finding out what happened in all the others…This is an excellent site set up for Wolf Lake, with some really nice pics and info on the series to fill all that in for you, so go check it out! If you have any problems locating it, just e-mail me, and I'll send it to you.

So, Sit back and enjoy! As we continue with Ep. 12 – "Blood Moon"

Welcome To My World……And Watch Your Step……

Brief Summery – Luke sets the tone of their relationship, as Sophia comes to terms with the wolf within. John fights to save himself and the mysterious wounded white wolf that he has become linked to, as the real threat to the Skinwalkers starts to close in…

But will it be enough?

Chapter Three – 

Sophia cautiously studied Luke' expression as she wrapped her arms self-consciously across her breasts in the classic female position. Wishing she could have this conversation with Luke, in something other than a towel. Despite her shyness, she felt a trickle of excitement and arousal run down her spine as she watched his eyes flare bright gold for a moment, those flaring eyes had traveled down the length of her like he saw right through that towel… She was having a hard time acknowledging the fact that he had already seen her naked… Had already held her…

_"At least one of us is going to get naked."_

Sophia remembered the teasing phrase he had spoken to her just a few days ago in the woods, when he had disrobed for the Flip. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment as she remembered the sight of that body… Better yet, the _feel _of that body against hers in that mind link of theirs…

Sophia yanked herself out of her reverie. Not healthy… Not healthy one bit. Teenage hormones were bad enough without the recent dousing of wolven on top of that. Maybe she should really try to avoid being alone with Luke Cates after this. At least until she could trust herself not to jump his bones.

Although, she wryly admitted to herself, she figured that _he _wouldn't mind that at all. Not one bit.

"What is it we need to talk about?" Sophia asked coolly. Tilting her head to the side in that classic expression of hers. The way she had always looked at him when she didn't want him to get too close. The one that Luke really wanted to kiss right off her face and straight into oblivion.

Sophia raised an eyebrow at him. The only sign of her nervousness was the reflexive shallow in her throat. Luke smiled. She was good at hiding her emotions from the others, but not from him. He knew her too well.

"Don't look at me like that." Luke cautioned. "You know exactly what we need to talk about."

"No," Sophia ran her hand through her hair. Frustration appearing on her face. "I don't, Luke. I don't know what you want me to say here."

Luke's jaw tightened as he studied Sophia's movements. She was agitated. The most he had seen her before. Maybe this wasn't a good idea, him discussing this with her now. But he had to get this out in the open. He had to let her know that he wasn't going anywhere. He knew what he wanted from her now, and he had been a fool to have not seen it earlier. She was the only one for him. She was his mate. There couldn't be anyone else for him, and he had to let her know that, or risk losing her forever because of his stupidity.

He had been an asshole before, he admitted that. He knew she didn't trust him, and she was right to feel that way. But what they had shared last night had been powerful. No, it had been completely explosive. He couldn't remember a time like that, outside of the Change, where he felt so free. So connected. And it was through her that he found that peace.

He had seen into Sophia's soul, and it was a brilliant place to be.

He would make it up to her. He would make every damn foolish, hurtful thing he had done up to her.

"How are you feeling?"

Sophia was surprised by his question of concern. She rubbed her shoulder self-consciously, before stammering out an answer, not meeting his gaze.

"I'm fine."

"Sophia..?" Luke took a step closer to her. She still wouldn't look up at him. She was trying to shut him out.

"Sophia, look at me." He demanded. He needed her to understand something. Nothing she did or said now would change last night. 

Last night, she had Flipped. Granted, she hadn't wanted to, but nevertheless, it had happened. She had to understand… she had to know.. that it was okay. It was okay to be what she was. It wasn't something to be ashamed of, or frightened of. He had seen her, the real her. 

And she was stunning.

He wasn't going to stand back and watch her deny her nature once again. She'd been doing it for too long. He knew her. Knew she was strong. Stronger than any of the other females her age. She was like Ruby and his mother. All powerful female Skinwalkers. All trying, despite their personal views, to do what was right for their Pack. Even if the results were painful.

Sophia met Luke's gaze, and started when she saw his eyes were glowing intensely.

"Luke?!" Sophia protested. Backing up. Eyes going wide as he purposely stalked towards her.

Luke's jaw tightened as he saw Sophia's retreat, as he pursued her. This fear of hers had to end now. What she was seeing from him was natural among their kind, a way of expressing the intensity of what he was feeling.

Sophia's barely covered backside encountered the wall behind her, and Luke had her effectively pinned up to it, unable to sidle away from him without touching him. And that was the thing… He was restraining her without touching her. She could feel the heat from his body. Sense the tenseness there. And the desire. But he didn't so much as lift a finger to touch her skin to skin.

"Why did you retreat Sophia?" Luke's tone was soft, non threatening, even though his body was the complete opposite. 

"Luke, what are you doing? What game is this?" Sophia asked warily. Trying to reinstate control over the situation.

Luke smiled intently at her. Shaking his head. "This isn't a game, Sophia, and unless you want to make it into one, you'll answer the question. Why did you retreat?"

Sophia's temper flared. She wasn't going to put up with this. She didn't know what Luke was trying to  prove, but she wasn't playing by his rules anymore.

"I'm not going to do this with you." She stated firmly, and ducked underneath his arm in agitation. Sidling away from him. 

Luke smiled slightly to himself. He had seen the way her eyes had un-wittingly flared gold back at him in anger. Her body was very much that of a Skinwalker, even if her mind wasn't. Yet.

"I'll tell you why." He spoke up. Insolently leaning up against the wall as he watched her stalk across the room, forgetting for the moment that she was wrapped only in a towel. He watched her back stiffen as she paused. Turning back around to face him challengingly as she placed her hands on her hips. Waiting for his answer.

"Because you're afraid. And not because of me, but because of what I am. What I represent to you."

Sophia threw back her head and smirked. Thinking he was referring to something else entirely different.

"And no, I'm not referring to sex." Luke stated. A glint of humor in eyes as he smiled cockily at her. "For _once_."

He became serious once again.

"No, I'm referring to the fact that you see me as a threat. Not because of me, but because I'm perfectly at ease with my two natures, and it's something that your father has raised you up to consider it abhorrent. But you know what? He's wrong, and so are you."

Luke pulled away from the wall, and stalked slowly towards her. Sophia stood her ground, hating him for his words, but nevertheless, waiting to hear what he would say next.

"I've watched you, Sophia." Luke spoke softly. Almost seductively to her. "I've seen your fire. Your temper, and your dominance." Luke wryly added. Still remembering the way she had thrown him into his car's windshield. The way she had been standing up to Presley's snide remarks the last few weeks. Challenging Presley in more ways than one, and not fully releasing what she was capable of doing. Not really realizing _what _she was doing. It was only Luke's firm control over the members of the pack his age, that had kept Presley from pulling anything. Presley knew the rules… you didn't physically challenge another member of the Pack, male or female, until they Flipped. Luke had reinforced that rule where Sophia had been concerned. 

"This…facade that you put on because it's what everyone expects to see, isn't you. It never was. You're not that person that you've pretended to be with everyone else. Even me. You've tried for so long to fight what was within you, what was your nature, that somewhere along the way, you lost your identity. And now, when it's come back and is staring you right in the face, you're afraid to take hold of it. To fully acknowledge to yourself who and _what _you really are."

"And who am I, Luke?" Sophia asked coldly. Unable to refrain from the shiver rippling down her body, as he pulled closer to her. Inhaling her scent. Sophia closed her eyes and shuddered when his arm came around her waist, and pulled her against him.

Luke gently rubbed the side of his face against hers, before leaning over to gently nip at her jaw line. Feathering a kiss there…feeling her response to his touch.

Luke held her for a moment. Allowing her senses to fully expand and take him in, before he slowly pulled away. Studying her.

Sophia gazed back at Luke in confusion. This was a different side to him than the ones she had seen before. She had never been too sure about him. About who he truly was. And this situation wasn't helping her come to that conclusion. She didn't know which part of him was the real one. The rough, self-centered bad boy the whole pack knew him as…or…

Sophia suddenly remembered the previous night, and something clicked within her. She gazed back at Luke, this time with a flicker of understanding.

He was revealing himself to her. Layer by layer. Had he ever been comfortable to do that with someone before? Sophia didn't think so. Luke didn't like rejection, even if he was leaving himself completely open to it now.

Luke walked around to Sophia's back, and took hold of her shoulders, turning her towards her mirror. Wanting her to see what he did.

Sophia couldn't suppress the gasp of alarm when she saw her eyes were brilliant gold. Flaming just as much as his were. She would have turned away from the image, if Luke hadn't been holding her firmly in place.

"Sophia, look at yourself!" His tone stood for no argument, as his hand came around, and turned her chin back in the direction of the mirror.

Sophia opened her eyes slowly, painfully, and did what he asked. She watched the reflection of Luke, as his arms came firmly around her waist. Her body pulled into the curvature of his, just like in their mind link. Sophia loved it. It made her feel safe. Treasured. He buried his face gently, primal, into the side of her neck. Sophia saw herself respond to him. Saw the way her lips parted in a sigh, and her flaming eyes glazed over.

"You're beautiful, Sophia. Let go. Let yourself be who you are." He whispered against the curve of her neck, as she tilted her head to the side, unwittingly giving him better access. Sending shivers of delight down her spine. He felt her slowly relax, and become more accepting of herself, as she watched their joined reflection.

Luke was right, Sophia acknowledged. She _had_ been fighting this. And she didn't want to anymore. What was wrong about being who she really was? What she had inwardly always wanted to be? And who she had always wanted to be with?

****** 

It was dark. Very dark. John couldn't focus on anything around him. Couldn't hardly move his legs or arms. Whatever they had drugged him with had been hard and unforgiving. He felt like a hundred pounds was bearing down on top of him. Holding him in place. His mind was sluggish as he tried to come to terms with what had happened.

He figured out that if he focused hard enough, he could turn his head from side to side. Enough to get a look at the room he was in. It had the appearance of a dark, dank, old cellar. There were no windows, and only one door.  He was lying on his back, on the floor, his clothes torn beyond repair, with what appeared to be duct tape wrapped around his wrists and ankles.

John groaned as he tried to sit up. His head swimming, throbbing. He didn't need to be passing out right now. He had to figure out a course of action to get himself out of here.

Somehow, he managed to work himself into a sitting position against the filthy wall. Panting from the exertion of pulling on his bonds. What the hell was going on here?! Who were those men that had drugged him and had carted him to devil knew where. What did they hope to accomplish?

John paused a moment to recognize the irony of the situation. He had been captured and held against his will three times now, in the last week. This must be some new police record he was going for, because he really didn't understand a single thing about all of this, except the fact about how screwed up everything had been for him since coming to Wolf Lake… God help that town if he found out they had had something to do with this. What was the big secret? Why couldn't they just let Ruby go?

John's thoughts of Ruby strangely reminded him of the white wolf, and the strange vision he had had before passing out. Chalk it up to the drugs that had been shot into his system, but once he got out of here, he planned on getting some major down time in to recuperate. He was starting to lose it. But, considering everything that had happened to him since Ruby's disappearance, something told him that he deserved to be a little crazy.

John looked down at himself and saw that most of his clothes were covered in blood. It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't his. They must have put him next to the wounded wolf during the transport, because it was her blood that he figured was all over him.

John felt a moment of concern for the animal. He didn't see her in the room, so he figured they had her somewhere else. Why where his captives so concerned about the shot body of a wolf? Why hadn't they just dumped her in a ditch somewhere? Or better yet, why was he still alive? 

John was starting to think that there was something bigger going on here than he had originally realized. He had a sudden moment of clarification that this was bigger than something going on inside Wolf Lake. He didn't know how he knew that, he just did. This had nothing to do with his search of Ruby…

This had to do with that Arthur Van Halen character, and his belief in werewolves…

****** 

Sophia couldn't believe she had agreed to meet Luke later that night. He had left rather suddenly, having sensed the entrance of Matt bringing back Sophia's breakfast downstairs. Making her promise to be ready after sunset, because he was going to come back for her and pick her up.

Sophia hoped he didn't plan on taking her to another Rave. She had had enough of them for one month. She remembered the last time he had asked her out _officially _for a date… and he had taken her to the Rave. It had been right after his father's collapse. She remembered how disappointed she had been. But that was nothing compared to getting kidnapped and locked away in someone's closest, and then tied down in a bathtub, having ice poured all over you to keep you cold after getting your throat slit.

That really hadn't been a very pleasant night. And had definitely ranked up there at the top of the worst dates she had ever had.

But.. she hadn't been able to say no to Luke. And what was worse was that he knew it. And Sophia figured it wouldn't have mattered whether she had said yes or not. He would have come for her anyway. Like he always did.

Sophia groaned to herself as she put her breakfast (well, actually, it was now past lunch) plate in the sink and turned the water on. Her dad was still sitting down at the table, trying to work on some papers related to his job. 

She wanted to be able to talk to him about what she was going through right now, but was unsure as to how to precede. Every time she had ever brought up the subject of flipping, it had been met by resistance and hostility from her father. But now things were different. The subject had already been decided, and she had done it. Willingly or not. 

So, how was he going to be towards it now?

"Dad?"

Matt looked up expectantly at Sophia as she came over the table. Twisting her hands a little nervously before hiding them behind her back. Where she would undoubtedly continue to pull at the fingertips just like her mother had always done.

"I need to know that…well, _if, _you're okay with me now. After the Change, I mean." Sophia stammered out awkwardly. Afraid he was going to shoot her down verbally right then and there.

Matt sighed as he placed his paperwork back down on the table, forgotten, as he leaned back to watch Sophia's expression. His jaw tightening as he saw the confusion and fear written there on her face.

"Sit down, Sophia." Matt directed gently. Waiting for her to do so, before he continued. "I want you to understand something. I never had anything against the Flip itself. Except that it came at such a high price. Teens either died from it, like Sarah almost did, or they were tied forever to this place. And I didn't want that for you. Nether did your mother."

Sophia looked away form him. Eyes downcast. "Then I failed both of you."

Matt's protest was adamant. "No, baby. You didn't fail anyone. Look at you. You're smart, talented, beautiful. You look so much like your mother that it sometimes surprises even me. She only wanted what she thought was best for you. She wanted you to be free from what my DNA would entitle."

"Well, that doesn't appear to be the case now, now does it? So I guess I've become a disappointment to her." Sophia spat out bitterly. Hating the fact that her own mother hadn't wanted her to be what she was. What she couldn't help being.

"Now, hold on!" Matt protested warningly. Staring intently at Sophia. Making her meet his gaze. "Your mother loved you regardless of what skin you would grow up to be. It never had anything to do with being a Skinwalker! She didn't want to lose you when that time came to Flip for the first time. And she had always been afraid of what would happen to you if that ever came around. Her hope was that you would never have to experience it, because it was her dream that because you were part human, you wouldn't have to go through it. She was afraid, as I was, that the human DNA part of your blood would weaken that of the wolf, and make it difficult, if not deadly, for you to go through the Change."

Matt paused to make sure he still had her attention. "We also realized that the call would still be very strong for you to become a Skinwalker, which is why she begged me before her death, to raise you as human. And to not ever Flip myself, as to do so, would inadvertently push you to do the same."

Matt reached over to grab Sophia's hand in his. Clenching it tightly.

"We also realized, that if you did Flip, willing or not, that you would be tied to this place. To Wolf Lake… We didn't want that for you. We wanted you to be able to see the rest of the world. To go places we never could." Matt now realized why Sophia had given up the opportunity to go to Florence, and study the stars. She had known instinctively that she was close to her time…

"But whether you like it or not, Dad." Sophia broke in. Eyes glittering with tears. "I _did _Flip. I did Change. It's over and done with now. And I need you to accept that part of me, so that I can accept it too."

Matt nodded resignedly. She was right and he knew it. Sophia's destiny was apparently going to chart a different course than he had originally thought it would, and he had to accept that, and give her the support she would need to set her feet upon it.

"Sophia, you are my daughter no matter what skin you choose to wear."

Sophia felt tears spill over at her father's words of acceptance. She quickly stood from her chair, and threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Matt just smiled and held her closer. Thanking God that she had made it through the previous night.

At that time, Matt had no idea the extent of what her destiny would be. Who could have? Who could have guessed the danger lurking over Wolf Lake. Who could have guessed that in the small, almost seventeen year old body of a female Skinwalker who was also part human, could very well be the key to the survival of the entire Clan?

Except perhaps for two… One who was just starting to realize it, and the other, who had always known…

****** 

John had been pulling hard on his bonds for what must have been hours now. He had tried looking around the room to see if there were any pieces of glass or nails, or anything he could use to cut into the tape, but considering how dark it was, it hadn't been easy. And he really didn't care for the idea of slithering around on his stomach to try to find something until the drugs wore out of his system. And they were definitely taking their own sweet time.

John could feel frustration building, but didn't give into it. He occasionally heard what sounded like people moving around above him, but the sounds were usually too muted to be sure. 

Instead, John turned his frustration into steam. He wanted these restraints off his wrists, and he wanted them off _now! _

John suddenly gave a hard yank, and he was surprised when the resistance he had been feeling for the last few hours, suddenly gave way to release. 

The backs of his hands slammed painfully into the wall behind him. Unable to slow their movement on such quick notice, and John had to bite his tongue to keep from yelping. He hoped he hadn't broken anything.

He cautiously pulled his arms back around front. The muscles down the length of them shrieking and cramping in protest, as he felt the dulled sensation of his arms being asleep after being restrained for so long, give way to the burning pain of the nerves being reawakened.

He kept still for a moment. Feeling the blood pour back into his limbs. He slowly started to rub his wrists. Peeling off the  remains of the duct tape. He looked at it in surprise. It was at least ten layers thick. Whoever had fastened it hadn't wanted him to go anywhere. John wasn't too sure how he had managed to get them off. There must have been a stress point in them somewhere.

John quickly leaned forward and began to undue the tape wrapped around ankles.

He had just succeeded in doing so, when he sensed that someone was coming. He didn't know how he knew that. It was instinctual. And one thing he had learned as a cop was to never ignore your instincts.

John quickly hid the tape wrappings behind his back along with his unbound hands. Curving his feet to the side and out of view point, so they wouldn't be noticed right away as being unbound as well. John leaned his head back against the wall, and pretended to be as groggy as he had felt when waking up. 

It was funny. Only what seemed like moments ago, he had still been feeling the affects of the drug. Now though, he felt almost back to normal.

The door into the cellar opened slowly, cautiously. A man, a little bit younger than John, tentatively stepped inside. Carrying what looked like a Styrofoam cup with a straw in it. Presumably filled with water.

John squinted his eyes and allowed his head to roll limply to the side. Playing all the classic signs of someone who was drugged beyond belief.

The younger man sighed, and seeming to believe himself in the clear, quickly stepped over to the prisoner. Wanting to get this job done and get out of this room as quickly as possible. He remembered what his boss had done to the last captive in here… He didn't plan to stick around to what was surely going to happen to this poor fellow… after they finished with that mongrel of a wolf.

John waited, completely relaxed, as the younger man grabbed him by the front of his blood-stained shirt, trying to hoist him up a little ways, to position his mouth against the straw. John figured that whatever was in it, would probably drug him even more. Nope… he wasn't interested in another round of whatever that stuff was. Not in the least. In fact, the only thing he really wanted at the moment was to get out of there.

The younger man started with surprise and fear as he was suddenly faced with – instead of a drugged, bloody man – one that locked onto him with eyes that were clear, non dilated, pissed off… and _glowing_.

The guy never had the chance. His last thought before being knocked unconscious, was that his boss had been too quick to discount this male as not being one of _them. _

_He wasn't going to be too happy._

John looked the still-breathing youngster with barely contained disgust. What a waste. He should have known better than to have come down here by himself. Or better yet, to actually come into the room without some kind of weapon. Or hell…he could have at least locked the door behind him.

But all of these foolish mishaps John was grateful for, as he cautiously but quickly made his way out of that room. Never wanting to see the likes of that place again.

He made his way up the darkened stairwell. Managing to see better in the dark than he had originally would have been able to. He didn't have time to figure out why some of his senses were working in overdrive… he came to the conclusion that whatever remnants of the drug that was in his system, probably was creating dilation of his pupils, which was helping him to see better.

If John had passed a mirror, he would have realized just how way off track he really was. His eyes were still glowing from the fight, and he was exhibiting all the signs of a seriously pissed of Skinwalker male. He just didn't realize it.

When John reached the top of the stairs, he paused. Waiting to see if he heard anything from the inside. Nothing.

He waited a couple of minutes to make sure, before slowly moving in. He hated not having his gun with him. Whoever had kidnapped him had been careful to make sure he wasn't packing.

John's razor sharp senses took in the surrounding room. Again, the lights were dim, and no one was present. It looked like the living room of an old family cabin. But it was in such poor disrepair, he wouldn't have thought anyone would be living there permanently. 

Of course, human nature never ceased to surprise him.

John quickly pinpointed the location of the door. He wanted to get out of there as quickly as he could. But something stopped him, and he groaned in frustration. He couldn't leave without finding that wolf. Not if there was a chance that she was still alive… Although after the gunshot wound she had been at the receiving line for, he found it highly unlikely.

But still… he couldn't leave without making sure.

John knew he was acting foolish. Knew that it was just an animal and not worth risking his life over. But he couldn't help it. Something pulled at him to try and save her. The same thing that had pulled him to come to Wolf Lake to try to find Ruby. He couldn't explain it, and he knew it was crazy to attempt, but he couldn't fight it that _need_ to do something about all of this.

What was more, he didn't want to.

John sighed again as he quickly looked around the room.  Keeping an ear peeled for any incoming visitors. If he was going to be an idiot about something, he might as well try to find a weapon of some kind.

A quick search around the room revealed to be well worth it. He found his pistol lying on an end table, and shook his head. Whoever these people were, they were either very sloppy, or very arrogant in that they believed that no one would defy them. 

If it was the later… well. They were going to be a bunch of very unhappy people when he finished with them.

John cautiously edged towards the hallway. As far as he could tell, the house was only one story, which meant that he didn't have to worry about going through another floor.

If the wolf was here, then she would be in one of the few rooms down this hall.

John cautiously edged towards the door. Praying that he wasn't walking straight into a trap.

****** 

Sophia quietly exited the back door of her house. Shutting it silently behind her. She had already told her Dad that she was going out tonight. She figured that he had known her reasons for doing so, but hadn't protested.

Sophia sighed as she walked away from the house. The grass crunching beneath her sneakered feet. She looked up at the star filled night and smiled. It didn't matter how many times she looked at them, they still filled her with awe every time. 

She idly made a note to herself to remember tomorrow… There was supposed to be a major meteor shower that would be visible around two in the morning. She planned to stay up till then, even though it would be the beginning of the school week. She had been reading about it in the paper for the last week or so. They were predicting that it would be quite brilliant to watch.

Sophia paused and glanced around her. Biting her bottom lip nervously. Luke had said he wanted to pick her up as soon as it was dark, but he hadn't showed yet. She hoped he wasn't planning on disappointing her again.

"Not a chance."

Sophia focused in on him as he melted from the surrounding shadows. Coming from the direction of the woods.

"Luke! I…I didn't see you there."

"Only because you didn't allow yourself to." Luke corrected gently. Steadily walking closer. Sophia swallowed dryly as she watched him approach. The moonlight revealing more and more of his features to her. A smile tilted up the corners of his lips as he studied her expression. As if he knew something she did not. Dark shadows played across his features. Making him look every inch of what he was…a shapeshifter. A wolf in human skin.

It clicked with her suddenly that he had answered her unvoiced question.

"How did you.." Sophia started. Luke watched the baffled expression come across Sophia's face. Chuckling to himself, he cut her off.

"You unconsciously broadcasted that one. You will learn as you become more used to your new senses, how to control them. How to guard your thoughts so no one can hear them unless you want to." Luke didn't mention that she was unwittingly already doing a very good job of it. Better than most recently flipped Skinwalkers.

Sophia nodded warily. This 'broadcasting' thing wasn't going to be very great to have not learned how to control, if she was trying to go on a date. With all the human AND wolven hormones running around in her body… Heaven knew what was going to run around inside her head! 

"So, where are we going?" Sophia swore that if he was going to try to take her to another one of those Raves, she was going to swipe that incredible mouth right off his face. Just in case that was what he did have planned, and he somehow or another managed to crack through her defenses _yet _again, and convince her to go, she was dressed comfortably for the walk back home. She had put on a pair of well-fitting jeans, Keds, and a long sleeved sapphire blue silk top, that was one of her favorites, because it brought out the tone of her skin, and the golden hues in her eyes. Now more vibrant since her Flip.

She had left her hair loose, and had put on one of her favorite ruby-colored lip stains, and had applied eyeliner and smoky shadow to her eyes to make them pop. She could no longer wear her glasses, and discovered that she really didn't need them anymore. Hadn't for quite a while. They had just been a staple of her humanity. Something she had clung to in desperation against her inner struggle. But Luke had pointed something out to her. That struggle wasn't something she had wanted to continue. Her soul had _wanted_ the Flip. Even if she had trained herself to think otherwise. She now realized just how much she wanted to _embrace_ being what she was… a Skinwalker.

She still remembered how much satisfaction she had gotten out of throwing those glasses in the trash.

"For a walk." Luke answered deadpan. Grasping her hand with his and pulling her into the woods.

"A walk?" Sophia asked skeptically as she allowed him to pull her in behind him. Leading the way into the heart of the forest.

"Mmm,Hmm." Luke felt a smile break across his face as he sensed her wariness. He didn't have to hear her thoughts to know what kind she had racing around in that little head of hers. 

Luke slowed down, gently guiding her up to his side. Entwining his fingers through hers. He remembered the first time he had done that. Back when his father had still been alive. Right after the incident with the truck driver, and he had gone to Sophia in the middle of the night – breaking into her room – because he hadn't known where else to go.

He remembered watching his parents dance as Miranda sang one of her songs. The whole pack had watched. And he remembered the way Sophia had smiled at him when he had taken her hand in his. 

Sophia looked up at him. Remembering that night too.

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Sarah McLachlan "Fear" from the Album "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy". I know I've mentioned this song before, but I'm hopeless! I think it's the perfect song for what Sophia is feeling in this next scene) 

Luke brought her into a clearing. Trees and underbrush were thick around them, with only this small opening in the middle. The tree limbs above them created a deep green canopy. The play of moonlight and shadows filtering down through the leaves. Causing an almost magical, prismatic shower of light. Mist carpeted the ground at their feet. Sophia acknowledged that despite how rocky and uneven the forest floor was, her feet still managed to find good purchase upon it. She never once so much as tripped or stumbled.

"What are we doing here, Luke?" Sophia asked softly. Warily watching him as he released her hand and walked away a few steps.

"Luke looked back at her, one eyebrow raised. "Sophia, relax. I didn't bring you out here to jump you. _Yet_." The last he added as a healthy sexy innuendo. Chuckling to himself when he saw her face turn pink, visible even in the moonlight.

 "Do you remember our mind link last night?" He asked her softly, turning back around to face her. His features hidden in the shadows.

Sophia tilted her head as she watched the fractures of light dance across his form as a wind rustled through the trees.

"How could I forget."

She had the impression of him smiling, before he continued. "I distinctly remember having promised to show you the wonders of this forest. Promising to be there with you when you experienced it for the first time."

Sophia's heart picked up it's pace in a combination of nervousness, excitement, and something else… something that bordered on the primal. _Instinctive._

"You didn't exactly say it like that." She pointed out. Breath caught in her throat expectantly as she waited to see what he would do. What _she herself_ might do…

"No, I didn't." Luke acknowledged, suddenly reaching up to pull his shirt off. Tossing it over to the side. Sleek, powerful muscles revealed in the flickering light. His eyes suddenly flared in the darkness. Their brightness enough to knock the air from Sophia's lungs. God, he was so beautiful.

"But the last time I checked. There were more than just one way to communicate."

His whisper was seductively as Sophia fought for control. Her lips parted in need, as her own eyes began to flair. But with them, her fear…

Luke was suddenly in front of her. Having moved so quickly Sophia had barely been able to track him. He gently reached up to cup the side of her face with his palm. His other hand coming to rest on her hip. To prevent her from leaving, if necessary. 

"I'm here, Sophia." He whispered, sensing her reluctance, her fear of letting go. "I'm not going anywhere. Come with me."

**_Run with me_**_._

Sophia gasped slightly at the mental call he had just sent her. She looked up at his face. He was waiting for her to make her decision. Want filling his eyes as he watched the fear melt from her face. Replaced by something else.

Sophia slowly stepped away. Keeping her eyes locked on Luke's. If she was going to accept herself for who she was, then that meant accepting _everything. _Starting with the Change itself.

Sophia began to deftly unbutton her silk shirt. Letting it flow down around her ankles. Luke turned away slowly as he finished undressing himself. Sensing that her reluctance would resurface if he watched. He still found her modesty a novelty among the Skinwalkers.

"Would you like me to go first?" He asked quietly. Still keeping his back turned. He didn't have to turn around to know that she probably had her arms wrapped across her breasts, and was probably hiding behind a bush.

He senses her nod her head in an affirmative. He rolled his shoulders back a little bit to loosen the tension there, and quickly made the change. Knowing that she would be more comfortable with him in wolf form than in human. Although she had a lot to learn about Skinwalkers and their… rather kinky sexual abilities with their mates.

But that he could save for a later time. Right now, he just had to guide her into the decision to finally accept the ability to shift her form.

Sophia watched in awe as Luke's human skin gave way to that of a pelt. His deeply shaded gray fur still breathtaking. 

Luke turned back towards her and came over to her. Stopping just a few feet away from her. Waiting.

Sophia forgot her shyness about her body, and allowed her arms to drop to their sides. A moment of panic resurfacing. She wanted to Change. She really did. But she wasn't to sure she knew how too, or once she did, how did she get back? What if she couldn't get back?! What if she got stuck? Granted she could be worse things than becoming a wolf, but she didn't want to spend the rest of her life as one! She didn't think she would be able to explain that one to her teachers.

Suddenly Sophia heard the sound of masculine laughter ring out inside of her head. Her eyes narrowed at Luke.

'Baby, you're broadcasting again! You have nothing to fear. You've already made it through the Flip… if you didn't get stuck then, you won't get stuck now. Your body already knows how to make the Change.'

"Yeah, but I don't remember it!" Sophia shot back. Biting her lip nervously. Here she was, in the middle of nowhere, completely naked, talking to a wolf! The weirdness of this just wasn't going to fade for her anytime soon.

She heard a sigh in her head, as the wolf in front of her shook it's head slowly. The picture of feigned resignation.

'Baby, it doesn't matter. Quite thinking about it happening in your mind, and focus on it happening in your body. You can do it, just try. Trust me.'

Sophia glared rather speculatively at him, before doing what he asked. Taking a deep breath, she cleared her mind, and imagined…no, willed… her body to feel the Change. Imagined her skin giving way to fur. Hands and feet giving way to paws. Human senses giving way completely to the Wolven…

Sophia felt a familiar pressure begin to build in her lower back. This time, minus the pain. It felt strange as it spread throughout her body, tightening and coiling around her torso. She limply allowed herself to collapse onto the earthen floor of the forest, as the tightening pressure built and built, finally giving way to release, as her human body gave way to that of the wolf.

Sophia shot up from were she was lying in surprise. She did it! She hadn't gotten stuck, and now, everything felt completely different. She was on four legs instead of two, and she couldn't help the little prance of delight she did around Luke as he came over and nuzzled her in acknowledgment of her successful Change.  

'You see, you didn't get stuck'. Luke pointed out wryly. Amused at her playfulness, as she experienced this new world and new body.

Sophia laughed back at him mentally. A couple of excited whimpers escaped her now-wolf throat. Her advanced and newly acquired senses taking everything in.

'Okay, now this is cool! Absolutely incredible! No wonder you guys are always jumping into wolf form whenever you get a chance!'

'I told you' Luke reminded her. Laughing himself as she danced around the opening. Smelling everything, and not too sure which way she wanted to go first.

Sophia pranced towards the direction going deeper into the woods. This was amazing! She had no way of describing it! There weren't any human words to describe it. It was incredible! It was like she was connected to everything in the forest. Her hearing could pick up the slightest sound. From the night owls prowling the skies, to the nocturnal animals searching for food.

Sophia gave a little yelp in excitement as she waited for Luke to join her. He came over and gently licked her muzzle. Pleased with how she was enjoying herself.

Sophia nuzzled him back, before suddenly darting off into the forest. Luke paused for a second before gathering himself and charging in after her. Pulling abreast of her quickly. Running and tumbling and darting under the moonlight. The sound of their laughter echoing in their heads as they chased one another. The blending of their fur rubbing up against one another. Intertwining her pure white hairs with his mottled gray ones.

Sophia had never felt so free… Luke had never felt at such peace.

****** 

Sherman Blackstone watched from his window as the sun fully set… Giving birth to the moon. It was the perfect night for the younger ones of the pack to romp and play, and generally make nuisances of themselves. Even the older ones would come out, and shed their human skins for their wolven pelts.

Under most circumstances, he would have gladly gone out to watch them. See what he could stir up. But thoughts of another kind were weighing hard on his mind. He had been studying some documents that had been passed from Keeper to Keeper. It was one of the original documents that had barely managed to survive their migration across Europe…But when they had been discovered and the hunts had begun to wipe the Skinwalkers off the face of the earth… Only a few of the original text had survived.

 The Skinwalkers had been hunted almost to extinction, before the newly elected Alpha male, and his rare white mate at his side, realized that if they remained they were surely perish. The Alpha's mate had been carrying a child at the time. Strangely so, because most of their females tended to carry more than one child at a time. And many of the past Keepers believed that that had been the added incentive for the Alpha male to attempt to cross over into a new world. 

They had barely managed to make it out of those Dark times. The Skinwalkers had originally consisted of thousands. Comprised of different Packs and Clans all over the Region. But that Dark period in time, had cruelly wiped out all but less than a hundred. The remaining group comprised from all the various destroyed packs. Consisting strongly of the toughest bloodlines. Some would have called them the best of what their species had to offer. Brought together for only one reason…survival of the Pack.

Once they had found the area now known as Wolf Lake, they had never left. The alpha female, one of the few white wolves down through their history, had realized that in Wolf Lake they could have a haven of sorts. A place that they could run and control. A place where there would always be plenty of space to romp and hunt and grow. But most importantly, be safe.

And Sherman knew something else that the other Keepers either hadn't realized, or had ignored on purpose. 

The members of the Pack believed that Vivian was the first woman to be in control, but they were wrong. This white wolf had been the actual leader of the Pack. Her mate, the Alpha male, had kept other males from trying to dominate her and take control. While at the same time, letting her rule as the rightful leader of their Pack. 

Some would have called it foolish to have allowed a female to rule in the stead of a male during such hard times, but they would have been wrong. She hadn't been just any wolf… her arrival had been prophesized. And the Keeper that they had had at the time, had realized the importance of such…It was only the white female wolf that could lead her Pack out of the dangerous period they had found themselves in, and save their species. Giving them the chance to regroup and grow strong again. 

That was the way it had always been. Whenever there had been a threat to their species, a white female would emerge. Almost like a chosen one, to lead them to safety.

Which is why Ruby's destiny was so important, and why the other members of the Pack couldn't let her leave or be with a human male. But they had been wrong too. And soon… very soon… they would realize that.

But this wasn't what was concerning Sherman so much. This was the history he had cut his teeth on. He even believed that the child the white wolven female had borne, had been the start of Sophia's line. He didn't know of any other family line it could be. And even though the Pack didn't realize that, they would soon enough. Especially if he had anything to say about it. Sophia was too important to them all, as he had told Luke. She could very easily possess the key to the survival of them all.

No, what concerned Sherman was an old prophecy that he had overlooked long ago, because nothing in it had matched up to what was happening now. And it concerned him greatly. If the prophecy was correct, then the Pack was heading into it's darkest hour yet since the escape from the sadistic killings in Europe. A dark shadow was starting to spread over Wolf Lake… and he could only pray that it's two resident white females could get their lives together long enough to confront it. It was up to them to succeed and save the Pack… Or fail, and watch it fall into extinction. Once and for all.

****** 

In the age of the Blood Moon, when its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors, and the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor… the form of the white wolf will appear once again… But to battle the oncoming Darkness, it's soul will reside… not in the shell of One… but in that of Two…

TBC

********************************************** 

I know, it's evil for me to leave you guys hanging like that! LOL

Well! I hope you enjoyed Chapter Three, entitled "Blood Moon" I hope I took you on a pleasant ride there, so please review and tell what you think! Chapter Four will be entitled "Stars of Revelation" and will be posted as soon as I get it finished. I managed to complete this chapter quicker than I originally anticipated…Oh well… I don't think anyone will complain! (grin)

Also, I wanted to say something real quick. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there that are interested in purchasing copies of the eps. of Wolf Lake, and I have a friend that I purchased my set from (the quality is excellent and she's really pleasant to deal with!) who is willing to make sets for anyone interested in buying. She charges $50 per set, It also will come with the unaired pilot. A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL ONE!!!! It was scrapped because the producers didn't like the storyline. But I'll tell you one thing… I thought it was excellent. You've still got the whole L/S thing going on. Although Luke isn't the bad boy in this one like he is in the other one. And he's more intense, and I think his acting in this one was incredible! It like he's got the whole world on his shoulders, which isn't too far from the truth, considering he isn't quite so care free like he is in the actual series.. A lot of the opening credit scenes were actually from this pilot. And in this one, Sophia's change is happening a little bit quicker. And there are twists on some of the other characters, which I found very interesting…

So, if anyone is interested in buying a set, send me an e-mail, and I'll send you her e-mail address! 

Again! Thanks for reading! I'll be posting soon!

Sapphira


	4. Ep 13, Moon of Revelation

Chapter Four, Ep. 13 – "Moon of Revelation"

Author's Note – just a brief word here… Again, thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate them! Keep them coming!

I wanted to mention it again in case it had been missed at the end of the last chapter… I have a friend of mine that is selling very, VERY reasonably the copies of the Wolf Lake series…she also includes the unaired version pilot which has a completely different storyline than the original (see Luke and Sophia like you NEVER have before!!!) For those interested, please let me know, either through e-mail or review, and I'll send you her e-mail… if I don't get back to you within a few days, then that means I didn't get it, so send me another note…

I hope you enjoy the next installment of Conclusion of the Wolf Lake Series, so let me know what you think! This story has taken a life on of it's own, so even I can't really say where it's going! (laughing)

I changed the ep. Title, from "Stars of Revelation" to "Moon of Revelation"… I guess no one will mind! (grin)

Summery – Sophia establishes her position within the "Hill" kids and the Pack, while Luke makes his claim known to the other Skinwalkers… as Matthew struggles with the idea of finally "Going Native." 

John unknowingly discovers the threat of the "Darkness" pulling it's shroud over Wolf Lake, and his connection to Ruby will be put to the test as he struggles to believe in the unbelievable…

So hang on to your seats, for this is going to be one hell of a ride!

  
And here we go…

Chapter Four, Ep. 13 – "Moon of Revelation"

John felt his heart rate pick up speed, adrenaline flooded his veins, as he pulled closer to the doors. Listening carefully. He could hear muffled voices behind one of them. Whatever it was about, the topic was obviously heated, as he made out two distinct voices. The door was slightly cracked. If he just managed to get closer he would be able to make out their words…

"I can't believe you injured her! I gave you strict orders to capture one of them uninjured!"

"Oh, yeah? Now when do you figure that I'd be able to do that, when it was trying to kill me! It ripped Carl's throat clean out! I didn't sign up for this to just get killed!"

"No! You signed up to help the Hunters track down these creatures and destroy them as is our right and calling! You were foolish."

John frowned to himself. Hunters?

He heard the other male let out a sigh. "Better to be foolish than laying on the side of that highway in a bloody mess."  John could only believe that that was one of the men that had been responsible for his capture. The other man he was talking to was probably the other male that had come out of the vehicle to help the other with loading up their bodies.

"Besides," The accused male sneer was heard clearly in his tone. "It's still alive. Barely. You should be able to torture it some with those medical experiments and tests of ours before it kicks off."

"Don't be too sure." The other male snapped back sharply. "These creatures are incredibly fast healers, and considering the fact she didn't die immediately, probably means she won't."

"Fine. Then let me know when you want to finish the job, and we can get on with this."

John heard the other male start to chuckle dryly. "It's a good thing I'm in charge here, or it would be all over for the Society. This female is highly significant to the Skinwalkers. She's one of their leaders. Probably the Alpha's mate. I have no intention of killing her before I get some answers to my questions." The tone of his voice stated that he would use any means necessary to get those answers.

John shook his head. Yep. He'd been right. These guys were somehow connected to that Van Halen character. They believed in werewolves and things that went bump in the night. It looked like the town-run cult of Wolf Lake wasn't the only thing he was going to have to deal with. 

These nut cases seemed to be traveling a pack of their own, and they had already twice tried to involve him in Heaven knew what type of experiment, all because he currently was living in a town he would rather leave behind… and he'd be damned before he let it happen again. To him or any other person that happened to step into their clutches.

But first he had to get that wolf out of there before they cut her open, or tried to make her into their case for whatever it was they believed in. Normally he wouldn't have bothered with a animal, but for some reason she had saved his life more than once, and had guarded over him more than he had originally realized. She must have been raised by a human to have that type of loyalty. And loyalty was exactly what John gave to his friends. Either human or animal.

Besides, there was something about her… He knew Ruby would like her. Maybe he would take the wolf with him when he found Ruby and they left this town behind… The poor creature seemed to have it just as bad as him in this strange dark place.

****** 

Dr. Steven Harris rubbed the sweat that dotted his brow from excitement spiced with a healthy does of fear, as he knelt over the wounded body of the white female. He didn't acknowledge the lowlife that he had been paired with in that Frankie character. The red neck youth was only as useful so long as he kept his mouth shut, and made use of his brawn, not the lack of brains that he had been shorted by since birth. He wasn't Steven's concern. Soon they would have enough information gathered by his underground Society for the Hunters, and then the Hunters would rid themselves of the ridiculous young man.

 Anyone who was expendable, usually was expended rather quickly… It kept matters clean. 

The Hunters had spent the centuries since the Dark Ages ridding the world of the straggler members of the Skinwalker species. And for the last 100 years or so, things had been very quiet for them. Their silence had been thick with the promise of returning with a vengeance if any members of the Skinwalkers were found… and a few months ago, when that nutcase Arthur Van Halen had popped up with his claims of werewolves that had taken control of a town in Washington… the very Earth had trembled with the suppressed strength of the rising descendants of the original Hunters. They had come from all corners of the world once again. Joining forces. This time to finally end what their Ancestors had begun. They would drive the Unnatural from the face of the Earth. And they would lift their heads in triumph as they destroyed the last remaining children of the Wolven.

Fulfilling their self-ordained prophecy.

Steven watched the breaths of the white female cause her sides to rise and fall erratically. The feverish glint of fanaticism shinning brightly in his eyes. He was at the head of another Society… One that recognized the truth in the myths. His Society had been chosen by the Hunters to aid them in their war against the Skinwalkers, and therefore allowing the Society to prove, once and for all, that they weren't a bunch of quacks and nuts that had come up with this stuff to keep themselves entertained. But that they had actually been right. With the information that Steven would gather, he could prove to his colleagues that these shape shifters actually existed. And 

earn himself a place in history.

Van Halen had been a rogue. One that the Society had believed too dangerous to try to hook up with. The fool was never altogether in the brain sense, and he would have revealed the Society to his subscribers. Most of them had probably been Hunters anyway. It was probably what had warranted the sudden interest in Wolf Lake on the Hunters part. Even though Van Halen hadn't quite had all the facts… he still had enough information to keep an eye on. And enough information to condemn him once the Hunters found what they wanted. He knew to much, therefore, it wouldn't be long before he was discovered dead in the asylum that he had been sent to. 

An obvious suicide, of course. 

No, Steven admitted triumphantly to himself. The Hunters needed something like the Society. Someone like him. They both had pretty much the same goal. Even if their reasons for it differed.

He wanted the prestige of proving the discovery of the Skinwalkers to the world…_They_ wanted their hearts as trophies.

And this white female was all he needed to prove to the Hunters that Wolf Lake was the place they were looking for. And the proof he needed to set himself amongst the Greats of Medical history.

Steven glanced over at his computer. The wolf's blood test had come back. It contained human blood…but not quite ALL human. It contained wolf blood…but not quite ALL wolf. He had never seen anything like it. And there was no way it could have been false, or replicated. This injured female was most assuredly one of the Wolven.

The Hunters would be very pleased. But before he let them know what he had in his possession, he wanted to run some more tests. Pain threshold, regenerative abilities, reproductive capabilities. See what kind of brain patterns showed up. See if there was any way to force her to change. 

That was definitely a show he wanted to see.

****** 

John managed to peer into the room. He did a quick scan. There was an older man, about sixtyish. Closely cropped gray hair. He was wearing a medical overcoat. He could see that the almost completely destroyed room had been made into a haphazard excuse for a lab. Whoever was in charge of this…operation didn't plan on sticking around very long. 

The other man had his back to the door and was only about 10 feet from the door John was hiding behind. He was focused just as intently on the older man's actions with the prone white wolf as the older man was himself. John quickly calculated the distance. He could probably make it to the kid long before he even realized what had hit him. And so long as the older man kept his focus on his 'subject', he should be able to get him under control as well. He just had to wait for that time to come.

John watched as the older man strapped the wolf down with two heavy duty restraints. He then picked a rather heavy duty looking scalpel. At first John thought he might try to remove the bullet. But instead, he started to edge towards one of the wolf's front legs and press down.

John watched in horror as the older man stated to cut on the uninjured limb, and he decided his wait was over. 

Relying on instinct more than police training, he bolted into the room. Heading directly up behind the younger guy.

Frankie turned around at the sudden commotion at his back, just in time to watch the butt of John's pistol impact hard on the side of his head. Dropping him to the ground in a massive heap.

John swung the gun up and pointed it firmly at the older man that had turned around to watch these proceedings with shock.

"Yeah," John glowered disgustingly at the man. Unblinking eyes unwittingly glittering gold, as his finger tightened cautiously on the trigger. "It's all fun and games for you till someone fights back."

****** 

Sophia shyly took Luke's hand as they headed into the Diner. They had gone back to that small clearing in the forest long enough to gather their clothes after their run, and then had driven in his car to get something to eat.

It was late. Most places would be closed by now, but not the Diner. In a town run by the Wolven that ruled the night, the Diner always remained open far later than most. But you'd guess that was what you get from a place run by Skinwalkers.

Luke smiled at her as he casually pushed open the entry door. Sophia smiled back at him, silent and thoughtful about their timeless moment in the woods. She could still feel the earth beneath her pounding feet. The smell of the forest and of Luke was still strong about her. They were sensations that she would carry with her forever.

 She casually glanced around the room, and felt her heart leap and her stomach sink as she glanced over at the pool tables at the group of "Hill" kids watching the entry of their Leader clasping her hand tightly in his.

Sophia glanced away quickly. A moment of panic surfacing. Luke followed her abandoned line of sight to ascertain for himself what had caused the increase of her heart rate. Luke looked back at the paleness of her features. A small frown creasing his brow, as he watched her consciously allow the thick fall of her hair hide her face from the young members of the Pack's perusal.

Sophia could feel their senses brushing over her. Probing, sniffing, confirming the scent of her recent Flip, and undoubtedly the scent of Luke all over her as well. She felt as if she was standing naked, exposed, in front of a jury. She knew that she couldn't hide from this any longer. Everyone was bound to figure it out sooner or later. It had just wound up being sooner than she had originally hoped.

"Hey," Luke blocked the view of Sophia from the rest as he quickly lifted her face to lock his gaze with her. "You have nothing to be ashamed at. You only accepted what you've always been. They can't judge you anymore. Not if you don't let them."

Sophia studied Luke's face for a moment before nodding. Luke's fingers left her chin and once again firmly entwined with hers. He led her over to one of the tables, out of view from the "Hill" kids, and sat down. Despite the distance, Sophia still presented her back to the pool tables. She didn't have to answer to them. She wanted to ignore them as much as possible. Tonight was about her and Luke. Not the Pack.

Kit was just getting off her shift, but still stopped by to drop off some menus. Sophia saw the questioning concern on her friend's face, but she ignored it. What could she say? What could she say that Kit would possibly begin to understand?

Kit studied Sophia for a moment, before minutely shaking her head and exiting the Diner.

Another one of the waitresses, this one new to the place, stopped by to get their drink and food orders.

After she had left, Luke leaned over and grinned teasingly at her. Forgetting about the other Skinwalkers trying to maneuver themselves into unobstructed view of the couple. Sophia looked at him cautiously, a small smile of her own spreading. 

"What?"

Luke just inclined his head towards her, still smiling at her as if he knew a secret that she didn't.

"What?!" Sophia persisted. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking…" Luke's expression was devilish at best. Sophia leaned closer, teasingly. Clasping her hands together, and leaning her forearms on the table. Bringing her face only a few inches from him.

"What were you thinking?" 

Luke's smile grew, as if saw her curiosity. "I was thinking that you really seemed to enjoy yourself this evening." His tone was almost insinuating. As if more had happened between them than her running with him in wolven form.

Sophia blushed slightly, her eyes straying away from his. "I think that's an understatement. She reached out at took a sip of her soda. It had been an incredible moment for her. It had been liberating as well as frightening. She had always had such a rigid control over her life, and to have allowed herself to finally let go of all that she knew about herself… It had redefined her existence. She didn't know herself anymore. But, that not knowing, was what was so exhilarating.

Luke watched Sophia lean back against the back of the booth. Self-consciously pulling on the tips of her fingers. That seemed to be a habit of hers.

"You were beautiful."

Sophia started slightly at his off-hand comment. Her smile widening in pleasant surprise, as she met his eyes once again. "Thanks."

Their conversation was cut short as the waitress set their food down in front of them. There were a few moments of silence as they focused on eating. Finally Luke asked the question he'd been wondering about for some time.

"Are you planning on joining Sherman's class in the morning?"

Sophia stilled for a moment before swallowing her bite of burger. "Um, I… I don't know just yet."

Luke sensed Sophia's reluctance, and tried to understand it. "But, you do know that it is expected now, right?"

Sophia bit her lip nervously. "I know, I just haven't made up my mind if I want to start it tomorrow." Sophia sensed Luke's                              reluctance to let the subject drop, when she decided that now would be a good time to excuse herself.

Luke watched in bafflement as Sophia excused herself and headed towards the bathroom. He realized that Sophia was still having a problem accepting just how drastically her life was changing. What she would now accept in herself, she wasn't sure if others could.

He would just have to do more convincing. But not tonight. She had already taken one giant step this evening by admitting her ability to Change. It was enough. For Now.

****** 

( Author's Note - If you remember what Sophia looked like in "Legend of Lost Lenore" during her dream of making love with Luke in the forest…that is the way I see her as looking now since she's Flipped. Just wanted to point that out for ya!)

Sophia stood in the bathroom after having washed her hands and reapplying her lipstick, and studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked completely different now. Her normally tightly contained hair, flowed thick and full down about her shoulders, cascading down her back in loose curls. Her kohl lined eyes glittered with the suppressed wolf within, and were no longer hidden behind her glasses. Her body seemed to be fuller and curvier. Her facial structure more defined, her lips fuller and brilliant with that shade          of red glistening there. She didn't look like her old self. She looked sultry, like a siren or something.

No, she corrected to herself. She looked like a Skinwalker.

All of this newness had been brought about by her Flip. Or… maybe she had always been like this. Maybe this had been what Luke had always seen. Maybe she had just tried to hide her sensuality from the rest of the world because she had thought it was directly linked to being part Skinwalker. Maybe it was. She didn't know anymore. She just knew that she didn't want to  go back to being what she once was. She wanted to embrace this new her, and never let go.

Problem was, she wasn't too sure about how to go about that.

Funny how later when she thought back on this moment, that that was a question that was about to be answered.

Sophia heard the bathroom door open quietly, and then shut. Sophia locked onto the reflection of her eyes in the mirror, and watched as her eyes flickered gold for a split second, before she shook her head. Disbelieving but all the time knowing that this had been coming from the moment she had stepped into the Diner and into the scrutiny of some of the "Hill" kids. She didn't have to turn around to know who was standing there. Her wolven senses had already acknowledged _that _smell.

She turned anyway, and leaned her hip casually against the corner of the sink. She crossed her arms across her breasts and tilted her head coolly to the side, studying the rather pissed off blonde female standing there. 

Presley had her hands on her hips as she barely managed to suppress the inner wolf from outright attacking her rival. Eyes glittering dangerously.

Sophia felt something primal within her push to the surface, and this time she didn't bother with suppressing it. This had been something that had been a long time coming. Presley thought she had some right to Luke, and whether she did or not, she was in for a fight if she thought she was going to be able to push Sophia around like she did all the rest of younger bitches of the Pack. Presley fancied herself to be the Alpha female of the "Hill" kids. Well, she was going to learn very quickly that Sophia's inner wolf didn't care too much about being dominated. 

By anyone.

****** 

"Drop that scalpel, and take those restraints off of her." John growled softly. He watched the older man carefully. Body tensing as he watched the man's indecision. "Don't make me shoot you."

"It doesn't matter if you do or not." The man spook softly, all fear chased away from his features as he smiled almost serenely at John. "You'll never be able to stop all of us. The days of the Pack are outnumbered. What happens here will change nothing." Steven watched the human across from him, a flicker on confusion rising. The man's eyes were glowing just like a Skinwalkers' would. But his blood test had stated that he wasn't a Skinwalker, at least not yet. He had pinpointed a rather large amount of Wolven DNA in his system, but his basic makeup had been completely human. He had watched that rather ridiculous transfusion that Van Halen had completed, but this didn't make any sense. A full-blooded human could not become a Skinwalker because he had had a transfusion. The past history he had conducted had proven that. The Hunters had confirmed it. And they probably knew more about the Skinwalkers than they knew about themselves. It didn't make any sense.

 Unless…

Steven looked from John's glowing eyes and the barrel of his gun to glance at the white wolf. Her eyes were struggling to stay open. Whimpers were exiting from her throat. Her watched the blood flow from the cut her had made on her leg. Her body already starting the regenerative healing process. It couldn't heal around the bullet wound, because he hadn't bothered to take it out. It had been his only insurance that she would stay down… until now.

Steven gritted his teeth as he made his decision. The wolf was his find! He would have her dead, before he would let this man/wolf take her!

John watched the steely eyed fanatic determination grip the older man as he quickly brought the scalpel up and aimed at the white wolf's throat. John didn't take a moment to think about it. Didn't let himself think about the fact that he was going to shoot a fellow human being over an animal. His aim was accurate as the bullet made impact right at the shoulder joint  of the older man's arm. Shattering bone and muscle. The scalpel clattered harmlessly beside the wolf as the older man dropped to the floor, screaming in pain.

John jumped forward quickly. Firmly kicking the older man out of the way. He could hear the sound of foot steps pounding down the hallway in answer to the gunshot and screams. There had either been more people in the house than he had originally thought, or they had just made entry.

He lost precious time as he unbuckled the restraints. Deftly grapping up the wolf, he held her firmly in his arms as he looked around the room in desperation. His eyes locking on the large floor to ceiling window to his left that revealed that night had fallen outside.

He didn't bother to pause in his movement towards that window as he heard the sound of footsteps entering the room. Didn't stop as he heard gunshots shooting off around his head. He put on an extra burst of speed as he threw his body into the glass of the window. Shattering it with the force of his body exiting the room. Still holding the body of the wolf, unconsciously turning his body into the shattering window to keep her from getting any more cut up than she already was. He felt small razor thin cuts being made all over his body, but for the most part, he wasn't severely injured.

They were suspended in midair for a moment. The sound of glass tinkling all around them. The house had been situated on a hill, so they dropped about 8 feet before landing on the side of that hill. John somehow kept his balance as he landed firmly on both feet. 

He didn't bother to look up at the window or figure out if there were any vehicles present. He just shot out towards the darkened forest. His feet somehow managing to find purchase on the steep, rough terrain as he carried the body of the wolf deeper into the woods. The sounds of gunshots following them.

John didn't stop running once he got out of range from whoever was shooting. He kept on, knowing that they might try to pursue him. 

He didn't stop to think how he was able to run as fast as he was, carrying well over 90 pounds of dead-weight wolf. He didn't stop to think about why he felt it was so important to go deeper and deeper into the woods and away from any signs of civilization. He would double back and head towards Wolf Lake, but he would stick to the forest. He figured that whoever would try to follow him would have people searching the roadways. He couldn't risk that. He didn't know what was going on here, but, ridiculous or not, these people were serious. Deadly so. He wasn't going to give them another chance to get him.

Clutching the wolf tighter against him, he put of the extra speed required as he felt her blood soaking through his clothing. Her jarred wounds reopening.

He knew only one place he could go that might be safe. And where he might be able to get some answers.

****** 

(Author's Note – the use of the word 'bitch' in the next scene, is not for derogatory purposes, but for the use of describing a female dog or, in this case, a wolf. Just wanted to make that clear!)

"Well, well, well. Look who finally managed to Flip." Presley's tone was snide and caused the skin down Sophia's back to bristle. Presley slinked dangerously forward. Inhaling lightly as she circled Sophia. Sophia turned her head towards her but not her body, even though it was aching to release the tension that was building there. She could feel her temper starting to flare the way it always did in Presley's presence. Only this time, it had a little help from that wolf part of her that was willing and waiting to defend them both. 

Presley had been a problem for too long, and it ached to finally put her in her place, once and for all.

Sophia didn't consciously admit it, but this wasn't just about Luke. It was about something else. Something that she didn't have the words to describe. Something within her knew that she had to push Presley from her rank, if she wished to remain comfortably within the Pack. If she wanted to truly be what she was. She didn't know it yet, but what she was feeling wasn't something that all the other females had experienced. The instincts of a white female were based on ruler ship above the other female bitches of the Pack. They were stronger and tended to be more feral when it came to defending their position. That was why being the mate to the Alpha male came naturally. For one, no other female could hope to knock her from that status. And two, only the strongest male would satisfy as a mate. Regardless of _who_ was actually leading the Pack.

And Sophia was every inch a white female. Even if no one, including her, knew it yet.

"I'm amazed at Luke's continued interest in you," Presley continued. Either completely ignoring the rising tension within Sophia, or actually believing that a recently Flipped half-breed couldn't successfully fight of  a full-blooded Skinwalker.

"Yeah well," Sophia's tone was laced with sarcasm. "I guess he's tired of taking 'out' the trash in this town."

Presley let out a hiss as she came back to stand in front of her rival. The wolf within her that _thought_ she was Alpha amongst the younger females, bristling in anger. Her nails lengthened, ready to shred Sophia's face. No female ever talked that way to her and got away with it!

"What did you say?"

Sophia smirked. A dangerous yellow glow coming to her eyes as she stared back at Presley. The inner wolf actually gloating with assured supremacy as Sophia realized she wasn't the lest bit afraid of her. "Oh, I think you heard me." 

Presley's jaw tightened. "No, I think the only thing I'm hearing is a half-breed who should have been considered a liability to the Pack when she was borne. The Pack leader should have put a mutt like you down." Presley began to laugh smugly, self assured in her belief of being superior to Sophia because of her full-blood. Honestly believing that she could defeat Sophia hands down as she watched the girl's eyes begin to flare brighter.

 Presley licked her lips an anticipation. It was time to finally show this piece of zoo-bait where she fit into things. For her to move in on Luke who would probably be a contender to the Alpha position in the Pack once he reached adult hood, was almost too pathetic to be true. Despite his obvious obsession, Luke needed to learn that there was no way the Pack would accept a half-breed as an Alpha female. It just wouldn't happen. Presley was the strongest of the younger generation of the females of their Pack, and therefore her position at the next Alpha male's side was assured. Everyone knew it. _She _would be their Alpha…no one else. Granted, Sophia had managed to Flip. The smell of the Change was still fresh upon her skin, as well as Luke's unmistakable musk. But there was no way a half-breed could defeat her. 

So fine. Let Sophia figure it out. When Presley finished with her, she wouldn't so much as look at Luke again. She was going to find out what "female ranking" meant amongst their kind. It came with the rip of claws and the snap of teeth. As if Sophia could ever even be considered part of the Pack.

Sophia just waited. The inner wolf ready to spring at this farce of a challenger.

"I mean," Presley continued, looking up and down Sophia almost in disgust. Unaware of the danger she was placing herself in. "Look at you. Look at your father! He was to be the next ruler of the Pack, and he gave it up for an ungulate. He turned his back on the Pack, for a _human._" Presley circled back around to Sophia's side, preparing to attack her. 

"It's any wonder that  she died. That "accident" probably had been planned from the beginning." Presley smile was evil. "I mean, let's face it. No human could ever get away with bewitching the future Pack leader." Presley tauntingly leaned in closer, as if whispering a secret a Sophia's ear. "I wonder… do you think that maybe your father had something to do with it? Maybe he had realized his mistake, and was simply correcting something that he never should have humped in the first place."

Something within Sophia snapped. Her inner wolf howling in triumph as it flooded to the surface.

Presley had been anticipating an attack from Sophia. Had purposely edged her closer to turning feral. But she hadn't been prepared for what Sophia _did _do.

Sophia casually pushed herself back up into a standing position from leaning against the sink. She turned slowly to face Presley. Eyes glowing, as a small smile spread across her lips.

Presley frowned at this response, and yanking her arm out, made a swipe at the smirking face with her extended nails.

Sophia barely blinked as one of Presley's fingernails opened a razor thin line across her right cheek. A few drops of crimson blood trickling down.

The next thing Presley knew, Sophia grabbed her securely by the neck, and flung her clear across the bathroom. Presley's body smacked hard with a sickening thud against the wall. Leaving a gaping hole in the painted sheet rock. She landed on the floor of the bathroom in a pile. Stunned shock written all over her face as she struggled to regain her breath after having it knocked clean out of her. Red marks from Sophia's fingers visible at the base of her neck. Marks that would be purpling soon.

And Sophia had just tossed her like she had weighed nothing at all. And with one hand, as if she was merely flicking away a bug.

Presley continued to gasp. Her surprise was so severe, she couldn't even force her Wolven state to the surface in retaliation. To make matters worse, three girls had just walked in, all Skinwalkers, one of which who was Sarah, who had always been a friend of Sophia's. They were standing there is shock. Eyes flying back from Presley's crumpled up choking form, to Sophia's calm stance. She looked as if she might have just been discussing the weather…if it hadn't been for the still heated yellow glow of Sophia's eyes.

They had been there to watch that… that _half-breed_ exhibit some type of freakish strength that wasn't even possible for a full-blooded female to commit. Much less one that was part human. 

Sophia barely acknowledged the new arrivals, she just glanced at her fingernails slowly. Plucking off a couple of blonde hairs that had become caught there, before she casually started to walk past Presley and out the door.

"It isn't over yet." Presley rasped out. Rubbing her throat. Still sitting on the floor trying to recover her breath. Not even able to stand up. No one could be that strong!

"Oh, I think it is." Sophia answered back. She shot back over her shoulder. "By this time tomorrow, the entire Pack will know of what transpired tonight, and it'll prove that there is a new bitch in town, and one that no one wants to mess with,"

Sophia glowered at the three females still blocking the exit. A small growl rumbling in her throat, as the inner wolf was still very much at the surface of Sophia's instincts made it's newly acquired status in the Pack clear. Her challenge heard. They hastily moved aside and out of her way in submission. If they had been in wolf form, they probably would have rolled over and presented their bellies.

Sophia turned back around as the door began to shut behind her. She watched as one of the girls helped Presley back up to her feet. Sarah stood there, something akin to satisfaction as she saw Presley publicly humiliated. Presley glared after Sophia. Sophia just smiled. Her expression almost feral, as she finished her statement. 

"This Bitch."

The door swung shut.

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Econoline Crush, "You Don't Know What It's Like" from the Album Brand New History. This song is very Wolf Lakeish and very much the perfect song for this next scene. I could just hear this song playing over the speakers in the Diner! Very reminiscent of the songs heard on Wolf Lake.)

Sophia turned back around, surveying the Diner. There was a group of Skinwalkers not more than a hundred feet away. Sophia acknowledged that Skinwalker hearing being what it was, that they had heard the exchange between Sophia and Presley. And even if they hadn't, they could sense the Wolven aspect of Sophia's nature was right beneath the surface, challenging anyone who thought they could come over and mess with her to do so at their own peril. 

Sophia wasn't acting like her old self anymore. She was still her, but different. She had finally decided that if things were going to be easier and more pleasant for her in Wolf Lake, then she needed to make her position clear from the start so no one would think that she could be pushed around. 

Seeing as how she would have to remain here for the rest of her life.

Dismissing the group, Sophia's eyes locked onto Luke's. He had watched her exit the bathroom, and now he was waiting to see what else she had up her sleeve. His expression was dark, almost dangerous with his seriousness.

Sophia's eyes flickered briefly as she walked slowly over to where he was still sitting. She could feel all eyes on her. The Diner was suddenly very quiet a they watched her progression.

Luke turned towards her, his eyes narrowed slightly at her speculatively as he positioned himself at the end of the booth. One hand resting on the table, the other on the back of the booth.

Sophia stepped in between his casually spread thighs. Purposely swinging her leg over to brace it on the vinyl booth seating at Luke's side, she purposely reached out and placed her hands behind his neck, tilting his face upwards as she kissed him possessively. Her tongue slipping into his mouth and dueling with his. Tasting him.

She was making her claim known. From here on out, she had made it quite clear to the other females of the Pack that they kept their hands off…if they didn't, then they would get it even worse than Presley had.

Luke growled his approval, as his hand found her upper thigh, the one braced up on the booth, and rubbed it suggestively. His other arm coming around her back, and bringing her body closer to the heat of his. Making a claim of his own. His eyes glared a brief challenge to the males in the room, before he broke off the contact, reaching up to slowly lick at the cut on her cheek. Cleaning off the blood, from the already healing superficial wound. He rubbed his cheek against the curve of her throat as her head fell back. Marking her.

He admitted wryly to himself as she slowly pulled away, eye flaming gold at him, that this evening had just gotten better and better. He had known that it was going to become necessary for him to make a claim of her, he just hadn't been too sure how she would have felt about it, considering their past relationship.

But she had turned the tables by claiming _him_ first. What a pleasant surprise. Her dominance had sprung to the surface, leaving a very self-assured and confident female Skinwalker in the place of the human shyness that would undoubtedly surface again in the morning, when she had time to think about what she had just done. But at least she couldn't blame her actions on him. He had been completely guilt free of this whole situation. 

Sophia had just realized what it took to be a female of their species, if she wanted to be the type of female who was in control. Not to mention the type of role being a white female wolf would require of her.

And she was _stunning_ in this role. No doubt about it. He honestly believed that he would rip out the heart of any male who tried to take her from him. This possessive side was new to him, and thus very dangerous until he felt sure that she was his, and only his, and he learned to get a better handle on it. If it would have him willing to reveal himself to a human male like that one she had taken out on a date a couple of nights ago, than he could only imagine what he would do to his own kind if anyone touched her.

"Take me home." Sophia whispered, looking at Luke's own golden eyes. He nodded his consent. Sophia reluctantly stepped away from him, and after dropping some crumpled bills on the table, he protectively escorted her out of the Diner.

After the door closed behind them, silence still filled the room, as the Skinwalkers looked at each other rather confused but pleasantly surprised. Some glancing towards the bathroom where Presley still had yet to exit. Sarah had already come out and had been leaning up the wall and watching these proceedings wryly. Enjoying herself.

That had been different.

****** 

Sherman sighed as he heard someone kicking his newly installed door with their boot. And from the sound of it, Sherman figured that this, yet again for the second night in a row, was _not _a pleasantry call. The last two days had felt like weeks. And he knew he wasn't the only one who felt like that in Wolf Lake.

He wasn't prepared, however, for the sight that greeted him, as he opened the door. In fact, you could say he was downright stunned.

John was standing there, breathing heavily, with the limp body of a certain white wolf cradled in his arms. His clothes were torn and stained with her blood and dirt, his body dripping in sweat and grime. He was trembling from exertion, and yet he somehow managed to keep a very firm hold on the wolf.

Sherman felt a moment of genuine panic as he saw the gaping wound in Ruby's body. But he was somewhat relieved to see that she was still breathing, if not alert.

"I need your help. And then I need answers, and I'm not leaving till I get them." John panted out, shifting the weight of the wolf within his arms. He didn't want to know how many miles he must have run to get here, he was just relieved he had managed to make it. Hopefully in time for Sherman to find a vet or something to treat the wolf. He hadn't known what had pushed him so hard, he had just known that he _had_ to save this wolf.

Sherman nodded hastily as he stepped aside. "Bring her in, and set her down on the couch. I'll get some first aid supplies.

John didn't bother to ask Sherman about his extreme concern for the wolf, or how he knew it was a female. He really didn't want to do any thinking at all at this point. He had never felt so exhausted. Every muscle felt like jelly. Pushed to their limits and beyond.

John gently laid the female wolf down, grimacing as he arms relinquished their load for the first time a few hours. They cramped and stretched painfully. Having been held in the same position for what had felt like days.

She whimpered for the first time since their escape. Eyes fluttering open in pain. John didn't think she was too aware of anything right now. John's jaw tightened. Her pain had to be excruciating.

Sherman came back quickly with towels, a container of water, clippers, and a rather large medical kit.

John watched him start to remove some of things from within the kit, and fire up the clippers.

"What? You're going to remove the bullet yourself?"

Sherman shrugged, before answering cryptically. "Let's just say I have experience with these types of wounds." He started to shear away the fur surrounding the entry wound. John just shook his head, and gave assistance when asked. His hand unconsciously stroking back the fur along the creature's head and back, soothing it. He could feel her body tightening against the pain, heard the whimpers escape her throat, but she never once protested or snapped in retaliation. That was amazing in and of itself. Blackstone hadn't even sedated her. John was even more sure than before that she must have been raised around humans for her to be so accepting. No wild animal would be at ease like this, when in so much torment.

Sherman finally extracted the bullet and began to treat the wound. Jon became confused when he didn't start to stitch it up.

"Why aren't you going to stitch her up?"

Sherman stepped away from the wolf. Nonchalantly wiping his hands off on a wet towel, cleaning off the blood. "Because she doesn't need it."

"What?! This animal has a hole blasted into her side! What do you mean it doesn't need to be stitched up?"

Sherman seemed pleased at John's concern, but he didn't answer his question. "How about you tell me how she came about getting shot, and where the hell you've been that would have you looking like that." Sherman beckoned at his torn and filthy clothes. 

John sighed and sat down beside the wolf wearily. Running his hands through his hair. He quickly filled Sherman in on everything. From him first seeing the vehicle when he was driving out of Wolf Lake, to being pelted with the dart, to watching the wolf come charging out of the woods in his defense and getting shot.

His voice became more agitated as he filled him in on the rest. Waking up in the cellar to overhearing the conversation taking place in the room where he had found the wolf. Sherman didn't laugh as John had thought he might over the ridiculous things mentioned in that room between those two guys. If anything, his features darkened, and there seemed to be a massive weight forming on his shoulders. His eyes narrowed as John told him about overhearing about a group called the Hunters, and Sherman's intake of breath was loud as he acknowledged the significance of that.

John finished with how they had escaped, and that he had run from there to here. Therefore accounting for the condition of his body and clothes. Sherman raised an eyebrow at that. Recognizing in the younger man what he had yet to recognize within himself. So Sherman's hunch had been correct… John was becoming a Skinwalker due to his transfusion with Ruby's blood. He also knew the same thing that that Dr. Steven Harris had known… A full-blooded human couldn't possibly become a Skinwalker with a transfusion. It just wasn't possible. The Skinwalker DNA wasn't strong enough to overtake human DNA. Not unless that human DNA had already been mixed with Skinwalker genes… 

As in from the moment of conception.

This was get getting more and more interesting. As if the Pack wouldn't have enough to grasp with two white wolfs and an ancient enemy having resurfaced, awakening a prophecy that would have been better if it had remained dormant. But now… now they were going to have to deal with an entirely new Pack member. One who didn't even believe yet about his true heritage.

Well, that was what the Keeper was for. To subtly or not so subtly knock a Skinwalker over the head till they got the point about his or her destiny. He'd only been dropping hints for this Seattle cop since the very beginning. It was time to drive the point home.

Silence descended in the living room. John didn't like how quiet Sherman was being. As if he wasn't that surprised about talking about werewolves and fanatics and some Society that seemed hell bent on killing off a bunch of innocent people. He just stood there, studying John.

"Please tell me this sounds as foolish to you as it does to me." John stated quietly. For some reason, not very sure of himself at the moment. He sat there on the couch with his bowed head tiredly resting on his hands. Waiting for whatever cryptic remarks Sherman was going to make next. He felt the wolf shift her weight at his side, and he looked over at her. Her eyes were now open, and she was watching him. Showing no inclination of panic or the intent of getting up.

"Do you love Ruby?"

John hadn't been expecting that. His gaze shot from the wolf back to Sherman.

"You know I do."

Sherman nodded, but then his eyes narrowed at John yet again. "Enough to die for her?"

John didn't know what point Sherman was coming to, but he didn't hesitate with his answer. "Yes."

Sherman sighed as he sank down in a chair across from him. "Good, because it might just come down to that after the rest of them find out what I'm about to tell you."

John's body tensed. He realized that whatever Sherman was about to tell him was critical in his search for Ruby. "Them?" he asked quietly. Barely able to suppress himself from practically jumping up out of his seat.

"The Pack." Sherman stated quietly. A small smile spreading across his face. Watching the confusion cross John's face. "It was me, you know, that called you in Seattle to tell you that Ruby was in Wolf Lake."

John's eyes glittered at that. "What?" 

"Well, I had to get you here somehow. You never would have found her on your own. That was what they were betting on."

John was starting to feel a migraine coming on. "This.. Pack that you mentioned?"

"Yes."

"What are they, some sort of cult?" That had been John's suspicion for over a month now.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. But not the kind you're thinking of."

John sighed in exasperation. "Then what kind are they?"

Sherman watched the agitation building in the younger man, and knew that he might as well let him have it all now instead of later. 

"You remember after Lenore's cabin had burned down, and I told you about the legend of the Skinwalkers?"

"Yeesss." John drawled his answer out, baffled at yet another twist of Sherman's.

"Well, that legend is partially true. There are people that can change their shape, John, into that of the wolf."

John let out a sigh of frustration, about ready to rail the older man for taking another weird twist into the fantasy.

"Hey! Don't you get arrogant with me, pup! If you want to find Ruby, you will damn well listen to what I have to say!"

It was the first time John had ever seen Sherman get that angry, and he stilled, nodding his head slowly in acknowledgment for Sherman to continue.

"Those people are not what your human legends have made them out to be. They have some of the same weaknesses that we have, but they still possess abilities you can't even begin to imagine. Just as a person who was blind, couldn't begin to imagine what sight is."

Sherman leaned forward, his eyes intent upon John's. The white wolf beside him was alert and listening to the entire exchange. Her heart beating erratically in her throat.

"These people have been trying to escape persecution for centuries. Back when America was considered the New World, and people from Europe were first coming to settle here, the Skinwalkers, or Wolven if you prefer... The actual name for their species has been lost down through the ages. They are only referred to as they are in the legends. Anyway, the Skinwalkers had just been through the worst that their history could offer. They had found themselves in the Dark Ages of their people. They were hunted almost to extinction. Men, women, and children alike were rounded up and tortured. Slaughtered." Sherman shook his head sadly. "And the people who had done these barbaric killings, had believed themselves to be on some sort of holy quest to bring what they referred to as the Unnatural to extinction. It was a bloody time for the Skinwalkers, as they watched their families and loved ones die in the most painful and torturous ways imaginable."

John couldn't help but be fascinated by Sherman's tale. He felt the older man's sorrow for this species and his disgust against those of his own that could have fallen so low into such barbaric ways. 

Sherman met John's eyes sadly. "Who was the animal then?" he stated quietly, shaking his head before continuing.

"They didn't succeed though. This species had been reduced from literally thousands, to just less than a hundred. Only the strongest of the various Packs and Clans survived the carnage. Most of the bloodlines were wiped out. Under most circumstances, the sole survivor from a Pack that originally had hundreds, would be a teenager, one that had been strong enough to get away from the carnage when the other members couldn't, and in some cases, an infant of their Alpha would have been rescued from their hiding place. But primarily, you had the mate or sibling to the Alpha, if not the Alpha himself, and members of the strongest bloodlines running through the clans. All of the survivors came together to create one last Pack out of desperation. You have to keep in mind that this required putting aside centuries of conflicts and social structure to pull together the way they did. To suddenly have someone fighting at your side, who just a few years ago, would have been trying to rip your throat out… well, that took some quick adjustment on the survivors' parts. But they had lost everything. And they knew the only way they would survive was if they stuck together. And so, out of the survivors, a Alpha emerged. He had at his side a mate that would go down in history as being one of the most important females in the history of the Skinwalkers. Together, they made the decision that if they wanted to survive to see the birth of their child, and to watch the Pack grow strong again, they would have to leave everything that they knew and travel to the New World."

Sherman paused before continuing. Still having John's undivided attention. "It took some work on their part, but they finally managed to make it across without the Hunters finding them. They found themselves a new place to live and they settled there. It was easy for them to do so, considering that they had the advantage of walking in two forms. And there they have remained since. Growing somewhat strong again, although they know they will never reach the numbers that they once had. Nature's cruel selective process kills off a good portion of their children when they reach adolescence. When the Change for the first time comes upon them. Maybe that is God's way of keeping them from ever being revealed to the outside world.  

"And so they remain hidden from the rest of the world. Guarding their families and secrets to keep from ever happening again what happened during those dark times. And they will do what is necessary to guard their own."

"Even if that means killing innocents?" John asked harshly, having already figured out where Sherman was going with this.

Sherman cocked his head to the side. "Innocents? No, I'm sorry. The people that mysteriously come up dead around here are usually far from innocent. Despite how they seem. Besides, wouldn't you kill to protect your family? Your wife, your children? Your brother or sister? Your Pack?"

John acknowledged the truth of Sherman's words, but he still didn't believe everything that Sherman had just told him. He relied on facts…not superstitions!

"And what does this… story of yours have to do with Ruby?"

Sherman gazed innocently at him. "Well, I thought that was obvious. Ruby is a Skinwalker, John. That is why she was taken from you in Seattle and brought back here. That is why they have been lying to you, _hiding_ her from you. That is why that white wolf that you have become so attached to, has been guarding you, protecting you. That wolf is _Ruby_, John."

John began to shake his head at Sherman's explanation. Fury starting to write across his face. "You…unimaginable old bastard. You expect me to believe this ridiculous story of yours?" John decided right then and there that he needed to get out of that room as quickly as possible before he did something to Blackstone that he would regret later. He'd come back for the wolf later.

John shot up and started to walk out the door.

"John, damn it! It's true! I'd have no reason to make this up!" Sherman jumped up angrily from his chair, halting John in his progress towards the doorway.

"I don't think so!" John shot over his shoulder. Furious at this game Sherman had played with him. "This little story hour of yours, in finished!"

John had almost made it to the door when he heard a voice speak his name softly from behind him. His feet became rooted to the floor and he was unable to move. The walls began to tilt crazily around him as he felt a shock of awareness run through his body. He finally forced himself to turn around. Unable to believe what he had heard, but his eyes proving it to him.

"John…" Ruby said again, trying to push herself up from the couch. Her voice was hoarse and weak. Agony and fear written in her eyes as she dreaded the possibility that he might condemn her right there and now. Knowing he might as well rip the heart from her chest if he turned against her in horror.

John studied her, the inability to process in his brain exactly what he was seeing. Ruby was curled up, naked, right where the wolf had been. She was pale and shivering from the fever brought on by the hole in her side. Her body already knitting the opening of the gunshot wound, although blood still trickled from it. Her body was coated with sweat from the exertion it had taken her to Flip back into human form. Her silver eyes were locked onto his from across the room. Her head barely able to support itself as she looked up at him. Weak beyond measure.

John felt a lump form in his throat. Afraid to blink in case this was just a mirage. 

"Ruby?" He managed to rasp out, realization starting to sink in. This wasn't a dream. She was real this time. Real… and everything that Sherman had said she was. The whole damn thing had been completely real. Everything he had seen for the last couple of months made perfect sense now. It all fit together like some twisted version of a jigsaw puzzle, that he had had no chance of ever figuring out otherwise.

Sherman Blackstone quietly excused himself from the room. Knowing that the revelation had finally been made…

****** 

Matthew Donner turned off the computer terminal at the Station and sighed. After Sophia had left to go out with Luke, he hadn't been able to stay in the house by himself, so he had come down here to get some work done. But even here, work had avoided him. He couldn't think about it right now.

Ever since this morning and his talk with Sophia, only one thing had been on his mind. The Change.

When he had made that promise to Marie, he had known that if Sophia ever did Flip, then his right to allow the Change would be given back to him. 

He remembered every aspect of it, and despite what the others had believed, he had loved it with a passion. He had loved everything there was to being what he was. A Skinwalker… a Wolf. But he had loved his human wife and part human daughter more.

But now, the decision of Sophia's future had been made. She had Flipped and was now a member of the Pack. Just as _he_ had always been. So now, his promise to his wife no longer needed to be kept.

Sophia had given him back the right to his heritage. But that didn't mean that Matthew could stop that feeling of uneasiness from trickling in. All of his doubts rising to the surface as he thought about allowing the Change to occur after almost 17 years of suppressing it with every ounce of self-control he had possessed.

He still remembered the first time he had Changed for Marie. She had been frightened to say the least, but she hadn't run from him. When a male or female of their species loved someone, it becomes inevitable that they would have to reveal them self to that person, regardless of whether or not they were of the Pack… He had loved Marie, he still did, and he had known from the first time he had seen her, that she had been the one for him.

He still remembered the feel of Marie's fingers tentatively burying themselves in his fur in awe. Fear slipping away on the wind as he had shifted back into human form and had held her in his arms…Trust, love and acceptance filling her eyes as she had smiled softly at him. Allowing him to take her to the forest floor cushioned by moss and rich dirt beneath the trees and moonlight…

That had been the night Sophia had been conceived.

He missed her so much that he still felt that gaping hole where his heart had been ripped out by her death. He didn't think he would ever completely get over her.

Matt shut the door leading into the station behind him and locked it. Breathing in the cold air of the night. He looked up at the moon. Watching the clouds roll past. Leaving his view unobstructed. 

Matt felt that call let loose from within him. The call to shift into his Wolven pelt once again. It had lain dormant within him for too long, and it wanted to be freed from this self-inflicted torture. His promise to Marie had been kept. Sophia had found her path, and now they would both have to live with those consequences.

Matt felt his eyes glitter a brilliant shade of gold, and he finally, after almost seventeen years, let the wolf out…

****** 

The moonlight revealed his dark, steel gray coat to the night once more. Welcoming one of it's sons back to the forest. Welcoming him Home. His feet pounded against the earthen floor in jubilation at being _free_. He ran for the joy of it. Darting in and out of the trees like an exuberant pup. Chasing the very wind.

He didn't know how long he had been running when he came to a clearing. An overhang that overlooked Wolf Lake. Sides heaving, he sat there and watched the town. Picking up the individual smells of his brethren, his Pack, stirring within it. Some in wolf form, other in their human skins. But all of them recognized the howl of one of their own as it began to echo across the valley.

The gray wolf stood there, singing out his cry. Announcing to their world that he had finally returned to his wolven pelt. 

Every member of their species stopped to listen, as they acknowledged the presence, and began to wonder. If Matthew Donner had returned once more to his Wolven skin, then Sophia must have successfully flipped and was out of danger.

And it that was the case, then would he finally take on the responsibility that he should have almost two decades past, and be the Alpha Leader that he had been destined to be…?

The sound of the dark gray wolf's howl continued to echo eerily across the town bathed in the light and shadows cast by the Moon. Ringing out its promise to all that heard.

******************************************* 

Well, did you enjoy that? Let me know! Tell me what your favorite part or parts were! The next chapter will be entitled "Stars of Passion" and I will hopefully get it finished and posted in about 7 to 10 days. Send in those reviews though,  and I'll see if I can do better than that for ya!

For the fans of my Earth: Final Conflict series, I should get a new chapter posted there in the next day or so…so keep an eye out!

Thanks again for reading. So, until next time…

Sapphira


	5. Ep 14, Stars of Passion, Part One

Chapter Five, Ep. 14 – "Stars of Passion, Part One"

Author's Note – Again, I wish to thank all of you who reviewed this story, and to ask that you keep it coming! The more the better! 

Sorry, it seemed like it took me a little bit longer to get this one out than the last few. But I didn't have as much time on my hands to work on this chapter over the last week as I have previously. I'll try to do better! If it is any consolation, I decided to do this next chapter in two parts so it would be longer over all. I should have Part Two up in the next few days! 

I had originally planned on doing it as just one large chapter , but that would have required me giving you guys a longer wait. There is so much I want to cover in this "episode" because I'm going to be delving deeper into the relationships between J/R and L/S. Which should be noticeable because of the chapter's title. Thus, the reason why I'm breaking this "Ep." into two chapters, so I can cover both couples. These two couples have a lot to deal with before I can continue the series, so I'm going to be focusing on them for the next two chapters.

I'm doing this because this series is about to make a turn towards danger and suspense, as I'll be revealing the threat of the Hunters to the Pack pretty soon (or should I say, Sherman will be doing that)  and they are also going to have other issues to deal with in regards to John, Sophia and a few other characters true destinies being revealed. And the consequences of those paths.

As it is, even though this is the only the first part of half the Ep. , it is a little bit longer than my other full Eps. So that's something!

Also, I wanted to ask if anyone reading this knows what the song is that is playing in the Pilot, when John is traveling to Wolf Lake, and visions of Ruby are haunting him… I've been trying to figure that one out for a while now, and I haven't had any success. If you could let me know, I'd be in your debt! I've already figured out what the song is that is playing in the other scene, when Luke was watching Sophia in the rearview mirror of his car, eyes glowing, with Presley draped over him. (I love that song!) So, if I could find out what this other one is, I'd be a very happy camper!

I hope everyone enjoys! Again, don't forget to review!

Summery – John tries to deal with the revelation of what Ruby is, while Sophia confronts her destiny… And Matt is faced with what is now expected of him within the Pack…

Chapter Five, Ep. 14 – "Stars of Passion"

John couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be real. There was no way that Ruby was sitting there on that couch where the white wolf had been, looking up at him, her heart in her eyes, as she waited for him to either embrace her, or condemn her. 

John shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. He didn't seem to notice that Sherman had left the room, he didn't seem to notice much of anything right now, except the woman across from him.

Suddenly, John didn't think his legs were going to support him anymore. He staggered over to the chair that Sherman had been sitting in a moment ago, and collapsed into it. Staring at the woman across from him in a mixture of fear, confusion, disbelief, and sudden clarity. Everything had been true. Every damn thing that Sherman had told him. He couldn't believe it. Didn't want to believe it. But there it was. Ruby was sitting there, still silent, with a damn gunshot wound in her side that had already sealed over. Her shivering was lessening, as the fever started to break. Her features were still pale. Her lush mouth white and drawn. But it was her. All her.

He wanted to turn away. He wanted to run from this truth, but he couldn't. Ruby was there, in the flesh, in front of him. And this time, it wasn't a mirage. No matter how much he might have preferred that she was. Because then, he wouldn't have had to believe in the unbelievable.

Ruby sat there, resting her head wearily as she looked at John. Letting him come to terms with what he had seen. A knot of fear forming in her throat. Her love for him had been the only thing keeping her sane the last eight months. If he turned against her now, she didn't know what she would do.

She had woken up, still groggy, just in time to hear Sherman reveal their secret to him. She hadn't been able to believe that he had done that. The Keepers were sworn to secrecy, and if the Pack found out what he had done… John wouldn't be the only one in need of protecting.

Finally, after a few moments, John spoke up. "So it's true then, what Sherman said about you?"

Ruby nodded her head slowly. Not saying anything.

John watched her carefully. He was so tempted to reach out to her. To touch her. His hands burned with that desire to ascertain that she was really alright. Despite everything, he had missed her. Hungered to touch her face. To run his hands through her hair. Even now, after finding out what she was, that desire was still present.

And he wasn't so sure if he knew what to do about it.

"John, don't be afraid of me, please." Ruby's voice was close to tears, as she quietly voiced her plea. Her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

John shook his head. Feeling his own tears burning in his eyes harshly. Sensing her pain, her fear, but incapable of trying to sooth it. "I don't know what I'm feeling, Ruby. I don't know what I'm feeling. Or what to say right now."

Ruby closed her eyes tightly and pressed her face into the couch. Exhaustion and pain, both physical and emotional running deep within her. Reflecting in her silver eyes. She waited quietly for whatever would come next.

****** 

"I can't believe I did that! I'm not the kind of person who would just toss a person clear across a bathroom and into the wall!" Sophia protested softly as Luke escorted her inside her home. She began to pace around the living room erratically. Not even bothering to turn on any lights. She kept running her hands through her long brown hair in frustration, clenching her teeth. Trying to figure out what just happened back at the Diner. Even in the almost complete darkness, Luke could see every aspect of her features. He sighed as he leaned up against the wall, and shook his head wryly. A rather naughty grin crossing his lips. "Oh really? You did a fairly good job of that on me a couple nights ago." He pointed out. Rather bemused at the subject.

Sophia spun around and stalked over to him, her human insecurities and beliefs back in place. "Exactly! Case in point! I don't do those things!" Sophia thought for a moment, "Granted, you had it coming, but still… I'm not violent person!"

He raised an eyebrow at that.

Sophia started to stalk past him in frustration, but Luke snagged her around her waist and pulled her back up against him. Chuckling at the exasperated expression on her face. He so loved playing with her. He teasingly kissed the side of her neck. Sophia stiffened for a moment before relaxing. A small smile escaping at the contact.

"Tell me," Luke murmured playfully against the flesh on her neck. Every bit the bad boy that the rest of the 'Hill' kids had him named for. He sent chills down her spine and caused goose bumps to pop up on her skin. "Was it really that _bad_? Defending yourself? Didn't you enjoy the… _exhilaration_ of the fight?" His teeth gently scraped over her pulse and was rewarded when it leapt in response.

"It wasn't exactly defense." Sophia growled back at him stubbornly. Not to sure that she wanted to forget this train of thought, even though it was obvious Luke wanted her to. He really was talented with that mouth of his. It was doing some rather intriguing things at the moment. 

"Oh, yes it was." Luke insisted. His arms tightening securely around her waist. "If you hadn't thrown me, there would have been no telling what I would have done to that human boy you had gone out with, which meant you saved the Pack from a few…rather difficult questions." Luke could barely suppress the curl to his lips when he remembered that night.

"I only went out with him in the first place because you had been humping that bitch in the woods!" Sophia shot back. Still not planning on forgiving him anytime soon for that. She acknowledged to herself that she still didn't completely trust him. He had already bruised her heart too many times for her not to still be cautious.

Luke recognized the hurt in her voice, but ignored her statement. Words weren't going to ease the pain her had caused her by that stunt. The only thing that would, would be his actions from here on out, and he didn't plan on screwing up again. He had already done that enough for two lifetimes.

 "And," He continued, "Presley had intended on doing quite a bit of damage to you if you hadn't fought back the way you had. It's the way of the Pack. You have to establish dominance quickly, or they will walk all over a freshly Flipped female like yourself."

"Was that the reason why I responded the way I did? Because of some ridiculous instinct to dominate?" 

Luke shook his head, leaning in closer to her ear. "It's not a ridiculous instinct, Sophia. And there will be times that your wolven instincts will be the only thing that will stand between life and death. You've got to quit thinking like a human, and think like what you are. A Skinwalker." Luke paused as rested his chin on the top of her head. "And yes, that is why you responded the way you did to Presley's challenge. Not because it's what _you _wanted, but because of what your _instincts _knew had to be done. You had to protect yourself, whether you knew it at the time or not. Your wolven side just…stepped in to do what you weren't capable of doing on your own just yet."

Sophia tried to piece all that together. "So what you're saying is that it really is a completely different nature that is within me? 

"Yeesss." Luke drawled out slowly. "Something like that. It's like I told you before. You have two different natures. Distinct and separate. But they can't remain that way. You have to come to terms with that of the Other, and learn to accept it. Allow the two natures' lines to blur and connect. That is when you will be in control of the two…When you make them one."

Sophia sighed as she rested her head back against Luke's chest, trying to understand all of this. She could feel his heart beating beneath her head, and she listened closely to it. Allowing the rhythm to soothe her. 

Luke closed his eyes as he inhaled her scent. Breathing her in. They stood that way for a while. In the dark. Just…_feeling_. Sensing. Luke enjoyed holding her. He didn't know of any other person he knew where he felt completely at ease with.

Luke's eyes opened up a fraction as he picked up the sound of one of their own howling. His wolven abilities ascertained that it was Matt, even though he had never heard the older man in wolf form. Their senses were so advanced that they would recognize the call of one of their own, regardless of what skin they wore.

Sophia heard it too. "Is that my dad?" Her newly awakened Wolven senses picking it up as well. Already processing the information in a way she wasn't used to quite yet. But she knew it was her father. _She sensed it._ She didn't know how she knew, but she did.

Luke took a moment to acknowledge how quickly Sophia was learning. Whether she wanted to realize it or not, she was already well on her way to merging her two natures firmly together. She kept slipping in and out of her wolven senses and abilities like she had been a Skinwalker for more than just a couple of days. 

And despite how inwardly proud of her he was, he knew that the real reason why she was picking things up so fast, and adapting so well, wasn't so much because she was a female Skinwalker, but because of the _type_ of female Skinwalker she was. She had abilities that he could only begin to fathom. There would be no telling what she would be capable of doing as she matured fully into the Wolf growing within. He could already feel how strong she was becoming. Especially back at the Diner. He hadn't been completely honest with a her a few minutes ago. That surge of dominance she had felt back at the Diner was not because she was just a simple recently Flipped Skinwalker female, but because she was a _white_ Skinwalker Female. And the white females in their history were always the leaders of their sex. 

Sophia's inner white wolf's instincts had come strongly to the surface back at that Diner, because it had been the first time Sophia had gotten around other members of the Pack. And those members, whether verbally or not, were sizing her up. Challenging her. That was the Pack's way. You either establish yourself within the Pack, or you get kicked around. It was really that simple.

If Sophia hadn't been a white female, she wouldn't probably have laid the line down with Presley the way she had. If she hadn't been a white female, she probably never would have claimed _him _the way she had! Everything that she had done, had been influenced strongly by the white female wolf's instincts to dominate. Instincts that were stronger and more powerful than the other female's in the Pack. Even his mother. The only one who could meet Sophia at that level of power was Ruby. And currently, Ruby was missing. And things weren't looking too good for her even if they did find her. Luke didn't know what Vivian might try to do in order to protect the Pack. 

But he did know that whatever did happen, he didn't plan on telling his mother or anyone else for a while what Sophia exactly was. He didn't know what kind of power struggle they were heading for, but it wasn't over simply because his mother had been chosen as Pack leader. Things were going to get sticky very quickly around here, and he didn't plan on letting anybody in on his little secret as long as he possibly could avoid it.

There would be enough speculation going around as it was after tonight. But the truth of the matter was, none of the other Skinwalkers believed for a second that a half-breed female could be a white wolf. Hundreds of years worth of belief in the otherwise wasn't going to change anytime soon.

And that was to their advantage.

Sophia listened closely to the sound of her father's howl. She felt a smile turn up the corners of her lips. Her father had finally gone back to his wolf pelt, and there he was, announcing it to the rest of the Pack like he had just been away on some far off trip for the last 17 years. But he was back now. And he was strong.

Sophia sighed as she heard the sound fade away. She turned her head slightly towards Luke so she could see some of his facial structure shadowed by the darkness of the room. She was still able to make out the pale green of his eyes as he looked down at her. An odd expression in his eyes. But Sophia was too tired to ask him what he was thinking about.

"You better go," she whispered reluctantly. "He'll be back home soon, and even though the two of you seem to have struck an unlikely truce, I'd rather not test that just yet."

Luke nodded. Briefly pressing his lips to her temple before quietly exiting the house. Making sure the door shut firmly behind him,

Sophia watched him go, and then headed upstairs to her bedroom. She was really tired. Today had been a long one and she wanted to get as much sleep as she could before tomorrow. Tomorrow was Monday which meant school, which meant more Pack members to deal with. 

Oh, joy and rapture uncontained.

****** 

Matt came trotting over to where he had left his clothes, just inside the forest, and quickly, if reluctantly shifted back into his human skin. It was late, and the moon cast dark shadows around him. The forest was humming gently with the sound of insects and the night predators hunting them. He inhaled deeply. Dragging the different scents and smells into his lungs. Savoring every one of them. Oh, how he had missed this! The night had always been his favorite time of the day. He remembered spending hours here, late at night before he had met Marie. Just seeing how far he could run. What new places could he find. How many other Skinwalkers he could find and give chase with. Hunting the very wind.

Matt came back to the present, and looked down at his watch sitting on top of his clothes. His nocturnal vision picking up the time accurately despite the surrounding darkness. It was late, and it was time he headed back home. Sophia was probably back from her… 'date', and he didn't want her to have to wait for him longer than necessary. 

He started to lean down and pick up his clothes when he sensed as well as heard the approach of one of the Pack. Matt straightened and became still. His senses on full alert as the muscles in his body tightened. But not from aggression. He knew that smell only too well. Had known it as intimately as his own twenty years ago. He knew who it was that was coming to him.

A light gray female wolf stepped softly out of the tree line. The moonlight silhouetting her form as she stood there for a moment. Her golden eyes studying his nude form standing there is the darkened shadows. Making him out perfectly.

Matt met her gaze calmly, before acknowledging her presence.

"Hello Vivian."

The female wolf paused for a moment before stepping forward and into the shadows with Matt. Matt kept his eyes locked on hers as she shifted back into her human skin.

Vivian smiled at him. No trace of mockery or wry amusement in her expression. 

"Welcome back, Matt." Her voice was soft and husky. Matthew didn't respond to her tone. He just watched her quietly. Waiting to see why she had come. Had she come to defend her position, or for him? 

Vivian slowly encircled him. Blond hair cascading loosely around her bare shoulders as her eyes couldn't disguise their subtle yellow glow.

"I am to assume that Sophia managed to Flip successfully and is currently safe?"

Matt nodded his head. Somewhat touched at her concern. "She's fine or as well as can be expected given the circumstances."

Vivian came back to stand in front of him. Understanding written on her face. "I know this wasn't the life that you would have chosen for her."

Matt shook his head slightly. "The only thing that matters to me is that she's okay. It wasn't easy for her."

Vivian nodded her head. "Yes I heard. I've also heard some rumors that my son…helped her through it. Is that correct?"

Matt's jaw clenched tightly, at her gently spoken innuendo. "Yes, but not in the way that you are thinking."

Vivian cocked her head to the side at that. Acknowledging Matt's guarded words. Well, looks like Luke had a little bit more interest in the girl than just another female to go slinking under the bushes with. And despite the fact that Vivian knew that if Luke took a half-breed female as a mate, that he would probably have to give up the right to be Alpha like Matthew had done when he had married Marie, but Vivian couldn't say that she was displeased with his choice. There had always been something interesting about Sophia. And she came from a very powerful bloodline. Half human or not.

"You should have let me know that she was in trouble." Vivian was pleased that Luke had helped Sophia get through her Flip with a mental pairing, and that the girl was safe now. But that still didn't change the fact that as the Alpha of the Pack, she should have been alerted immediately about the problem at hand.

"There wasn't time, V. And even if there had been, do you honestly think I would have let you kill her if it had come down to that?" Matt's tone wavered slightly with those words. Looking back at Vivian intensely. There was no doubt in his mind that he would have defended his daughter, even if it had meant harming the woman across from him.

She nodded her head slowly. Understanding Matt's feelings about this subject. What would she have done herself, if the situation had been reversed? She knew how strong the instinct was to protect your young at all cost. Hell… she had taken the enemy to her bed in the hopes that Tyler would leave her son alone when Will died. Only to find that that wasn't going to be the case, and then she had had to step forward and rewrite history by becoming Alpha. A position once before denied to the members of their female species.

No… she knew all too well what one would do to protect their young, and she couldn't condemn Matthew for loving his daughter.

"So, have you decided to come back into the fold of the Pack?" 

Matt had been expecting that question. His eyes narrowed slightly at Vivian. Knowing what she was fishing for.

"I am who I am." He admitted gruffly. "Now that Sophia has made her choice, I plan to stay by her side as much as possible through her destiny. So yes, I've come back."

Vivian smiled openly at that admittance. Knowing the guts it had taken for him to admit it. She rather coyly eyed him up and down.

"That's good. Because I was starting to get lonely." Her teasing tone went hand in hand with the rather hungry expression in her eyes. She reached out and ran her fingertips down his chest.

Matt quickly shackled her wrist with his hands. Vivian tried to shrug him off, but he wouldn't let go. Her eyes flickered for a second, then she relaxed. Watching him cautiously. Knowing that he wouldn't hurt her, but still irked that it was so easy for him to restrain her.

Matt struggled within himself to resist the temptation she offered to him, especially with the wolf so close to the surface. Urging him to take another mate. It was becoming increasingly difficult to deny what Vivian wanted from him, when he couldn't help being attracted to her. He had been in love with her once. He probably still was, but it wasn't the same thing that he had had with Marie. Nothing could compare to that merging of the souls.

But he would have mated with Vivian if he hadn't met Marie. Of that, he was certain. So wouldn't it stand that Vivian was the only other woman he would ever want to take to his bed?

He hadn't been with anyone since Marie's death, so now, with Vivian standing right there in front of him the way she was, her perfect body revealed to the night air, offering herself once again, it was only his guilt that was standing in his way.

"I can't, V. I can't." His tone was soft, regretful, as he set her away from him. Taking every ounce of self control not to take her down to the forest floor.

Vivian clicked her tongue at him. Rather angry at him for yet again resisting her. But she could also sense his desire. And she knew that he was going through it just as hard as what she had been going through…waiting for him as long as she had.

"Then when, Matt? Are you going to grieve for your wife for the rest of your life? Do you honestly think that Marie would have wanted that for you?"

Matt flinched at her question. A pang shooting through to his heart. "Careful, V. You're on dangerous ground."

Vivian's eyes glittered in anger and hurt. Her feelings still strong for him. "That may be, but it is no less the truth. I know you miss her. I miss Will. And I also know that the relationship we shared and could still share is not going to be the one that you had with your wife. I know you loved her. I know you still love her. But she is part of your past, Matt. When are you going to let go of that, and come _run_ with me?"

Vivian reached up to touch his cheek. Gently feathering the tips of her fingers over his mouth. She watched his glowing eyes close at the contact, reopening to stare back at her. Pain filling his gaze so much that it was hard for her to look at him. He was still grieving for his wife, he always would. When a wolf's mate died, the other never fully got over the loss. But it was the guilt of him needing another after all these years of mourning that kept him from her now.

Vivian's hand dropped away regretfully. "Did you know how hard it was, when you turned from me, and went to her? Loved her? Placed your seed into _her_ womb? How much that ripped into my heart? You were the one for me. And even though I loved Will, I never at any time stopped feeling these last 20 years what I felt for you. I just want you to know that."

Vivian started to step away. Matt was tempted to reach out and hold her, but knew that if he did, everything that he was holding back on would explode around them.

Vivian smiled sadly at him. "You know I've always waited for you to come to me. And I also know, that that might still happen." She sighed as she looked away. "But I'm not going to wait forever, Matt. I may currently be the Alpha, but you were the one who should be ruling. The Pack is going to expect that now. So you need to make a decision on whether or not you are going to accept your destiny. And whether or not I'm going to be a part of that."

With those words, Vivian quickly shifted back into her wolven pelt. She stood there for a moment in all of her splendor. Waiting to see his response. Seeing the hunger in his gaze, but knowing that his will was stronger. She quietly slipped back into the darkness of the trees. The forest deftly wrapping itself back in on its queen. Sheltering and hiding her from view as if she had never even been there to begin with.

Matt watched her leave. His eyes still glowing brilliantly.

****** 

John sat there on the chair across from Ruby for what felt like hours. Just trying to process in his mind this new revelation. Ruby occasionally shut her eyes for periods of time, but stayed alert for the most part. Patiently waiting for John to think everything through, and come to some sort of conclusion. 

Finally, he began to ask questions.

"Was this why you were taken from me in Seattle?"

Ruby turned her head back towards him, dragging a pillow to support her head on as she looked back at him. Her fingers twisting nervously in the throw that she had pulled off the back of the couch to cover her nakedness with.

"Yes," She stated quietly. Her voice a little bit stronger. The wound in her side was almost healed. The cut on her arm was nothing more than an angry looking scar. Soon, even that, would be gone. "I'm… rather special to the Pack. My color signifies a certain rare rank within the females of my species that makes me important." Ruby rolled her eyes at that statement. "It means I'm too valuable a commodity to allow to just run away." She stopped to clear her throat. "We aren't allowed to leave Wolf Lake. Survival of the pack is too important to allow for that kind of exposure." She smiled rather wryly at him, "Besides, they couldn't risk me becoming too attached to you, and revealing our secret."

"Well, it's a little late for that." John grumbled darkly. Rubbing his forehead hard. Trying to relieve some of the tension.

"Why didn't you come to me earlier?" He asked suddenly. Unable to hide the hurt in his voice as he asked one of the main questions that had burning in his mind. Ruby blinked back her own tears.

"I tried, several times. But… I was either caught or couldn't go through with it. It wouldn't have mattered where we would have gone, John. Where we would have run. They would have found us. And they would have killed you." Ruby's voice wavered slightly. "I couldn't risk that. I knew that if you died, then I wouldn't have the strength to do what I needed to do. And that was to remain here. IN Wolf Lake, and away from you."

John felt each of her words like a stab through his heart. "You should have trusted me, Ruby. You should have told me that these people were after you. I would have taken you out of Seattle. You say they can find you anywhere, but damn it! They don't have the resources that I have! I could have made certain that you stayed hidden!"

"And how was I supposed to do that, John?" Ruby shot back. "Tell you what I was? How do you think that would have gone over eight months ago? Before you came here and entered a whole different reality? How would you have responded to that, John?"

John shot up out of the chair and paced across the room. Raking his fingers through his hair. "I don't know! But anything would have been better than going through the _hell _I've been in for the last eight months!"

"You don't know what hell is, John!" Ruby pushed herself up on the couch. Turning around to watch him. "Hell is what they'll do to you if they find out you know the truth!"

John groaned as he turned back around to face her. Leaning against the wall. He spread his hands out. "So what now? What am I supposed to do now?" 

Ruby closed her eyes for a second as she thought. Believing that he was asking for a way out, and knowing she had to let him go, even if he ripped her heart out of her chest in the process. "You need to leave Wolf Lake, and never come back. Never hint that you so much as saw me or found out anything here tonight. Please, John. It's the only way for you to stay alive." She had to force out every word. Her heart rebelling against the idea of losing him forever.

John shook his head in quick denial. "Let me rephrase that." He paced back over to her. "What are _we_ supposed to do now?"

"We?" Ruby asked warily. Not sure where he was going with this.

"Yeah," John's face was harder than Ruby had ever seen it. He leaned down close towards her. "_We_. I'll be damned after finally finding you after all these months, that I'm just going to walk out of here like nothing happened. I'm not leaving unless you are with me."

Ruby felt a surge of hope at his words. Even though they were damning him right on the spot. "Even after finding out what I am?"

John rubbed his eyes in frustration. "_Yes_. Despite this…very _weird_ and…_strange_ development, I'm not going to leave you. Not after everything that has happened."

Ruby studied his decisive tone. Seeking out answers to her unspoken questions. "Why are you willing to make that kind of decision after just finding out what I am? After seeing what I'm capable of becoming?"

John looked at her for a moment. Wondering that himself. "I don't know." He finally admitted. "Maybe it's because I've been living in this strange town for the last few months. Maybe because I've been searching for you for eight, to not care what you really are. I guess I prefer you as this than dead on some highway, or pawn in some satanic cult." He paused for a moment, "Or  maybe because of Lenore, and what she told me about you. Maybe it's because of all the subtle ways Sherman has been feeding this stuff to me. I don't know." John smiled softly for the first time this evening. "Or maybe because I know what a real monster is, Ruby. And you're not it."

Ruby's eyes started to well, and before she could think about her course of action, she quickly grasped John and pulled him to her. Wrapping her arms securely around his neck. Burying her face in his shoulder. She felt a momentary surge of fear as she felt his body stiffen at the contact. But the next thing she knew, he was holding her too. Both of them locked together in desperation. Afraid that if they let go they would never be able to hold the other again. They had made their way through a storm that had nearly shattered them, but they had finally found each other. And it was enough. _More_ than enough.

Ruby allowed herself to cry openly. Small sobs escaping her throat as John pulled her off the couch and into his embrace. Both of them sinking to the floor on their knees as they held each other. John extracted her head from his shoulder so he could see her face. Brushing away her tears with his thumbs. Not knowing what to say.

His lips replaced his fingers as he gently kissed her eyelids. Kissing away the moisture building there. Everything that he had just learned about her forgotten as he slowly brought his lips to hers. Kissing her for the first time in over eight months.

Ruby trembled as she tasted him. Drank of him. Her tongue quickly darting into his mouth to dance with his. She still remembered his taste, like they had only kissed just yesterday, instead of almost a year past. A year spent in hell. 

But now, she finally felt like she was home.

The flame of passion started to dance between them as their kiss deepened. Became more insistent. Desperate. Ruby started to run her hand down his chest. Feeling the corded muscles beneath the skin. Feeling the heat of his bare hands against the skin of her back. She wanted to see him. Wanted to feel all of him. John grasped her bare thigh and brought it up around his waist. Positioning her on his lap. Bringing their bodies flush up against one another. Seeking the connection.

The fact that she was already naked crossed John's mind as he suddenly pulled back. "Ruby, either we stop now, or things are going to get out of control here."

Ruby smiled at him. Eyes heating as she grinded herself against him. Seeking relief. "How many times do I have to tell you that I like it when things are out of control?"

John almost gave in, allowing himself the luxury of another kiss, before he pulled away again. "No, Ruby. We need to stop. We've got to figure some things out here first. It isn't safe for the two of us to remain here, and you're still recovering from your injury. I want you, you have no idea how much…" She looked rather pointedly at him, brows raised. John couldn't help grinning back at her, "Well, maybe you do. But not like this. Not here."

Ruby groaned in defeat as her head fell back into the curve of his shoulder. Acknowledging the truth to his words, even if she didn't have to like it.

"Do you know where we can go?" He asked quietly. Trying to pull himself together. It had been too long since he had been with her, and his body felt like it was on fire. Her wriggling around on his lap wasn't helping matters either. 

Ruby nodded her head again. This time picking it up out of his shoulder long enough to look at him. "Yeah, I think so. Sherman knows where it is. He can take us there."

******

(The next morning…)

Sophia sighed as she slammed her locker closed. She stood there tapping her fingers against the cold metal surface as she contemplated whether or not she was going to go to Sherman Blackstone's class. To do so was going to make a statement, and whether or not everyone knew that she had Flipped, she had a problem with being under the scrutiny of the entire Pack. 

What had happened when she had Flipped, had been a private, personal moment in her life, and she didn't want to be placed on a pedestal and studied. She didn't want everyone making a big deal out of it.

But she also knew that if she didn't show up, it was going to look like she was a coward. And after last night, that was the last thing anyone seemed to be expecting from her.

Every one of the 'Hill' kids covertly eyed her when she walked past. Most moved out of her way. Others openly grinned at her. Either congratulating her on her Flip, or showing up Presley the way she had. Some wondered how long Luke would be interested in her. Others wondered who she had really Flipped with. Others whispered quietly on the different mental paths they _thought_ she couldn't pick up on about various pieces of gossip. She may have become their fodder, but no one made any aggressive moves toward her.

She never saw Presley. Sophia figured that she had stayed home. Licking her wounds in private.

Sophia started to walk slowly, reluctantly to Sherman's class. Trying to keep up a cool façade. Everyone watching her. 

Sophia had just gotten about fifteen feet from the door, and was seriously considering about turning the other way and making a break for it, when she felt a familiar warm arm drop securely over her shoulders.

_'Just breathe, babe.' _Luke's words were spoken over their private mental link, as he securely escorted her into the room. Keeping his arm firmly around her. Giving her support, while all the time, making a statement to the other males in the vicinity.

Sophia smiled wryly at him, and let out the breathe she had been holding. Luke wasn't too sure as to why she was feeling so upset, but he had _felt_ it from clear outside where he had been parking his car. He hadn't known the cause of it at the time, but he had made some rather impressive time getting there. Some teachers hadn't been too happy about him running through the hallways, but what could they do? Most were Skinwalkers and they weren't going to bust the son of the Alpha for a simple thing like breaking the rule of the how fast your pace was through the school. Not that it would have mattered anyway.

Once he had accessed the situation, he had found it rather humorous, but knew that it wasn't so funny for her, so he figured that if she really hated being on public display that much, he would at least stay with her and shield her from the main brunt of it.

She never ceased to be a bundle of contradictions to him.

Sophia felt her cheeks turn pink as she walked into the almost filled classroom. Granted, if she had been here a little bit earlier, she could have skipped this part, but she had been too busy arguing with herself on whether or not to come.

Everyone in the class turned towards her, even Sherman, and began to clap and cat whistle, some calling out her name.

Sophia felt the urge to bury her face in Luke's chest, but suppressed it. But it still didn't stop her from digging her fingernails into Luke's forearm where her hand rested, while she pasted a rather sick smile on her face. Holding his arm firmly onto her shoulders. 

_'Soph, let up before you draw blood.' _Luke's wry tone was humorous, as if he viewed this as a game. Sophia forgot her embarrassment long enough to glare at him. _'Don't you dare leave me alone with those jackals.' _She warned. He just grinned back at her, pulling her towards one of the back tables to sit down. Normally everyone sat in some sort of assigned order, but he didn't think that Blackstone was going to object against this pairing. Not that it would have done him any good. Sophia wanted him to stay with her, so he was damn well gonna sit tight and enjoy the opportunity presented.  

A devilish grin spread across his face. Looking forward to exploring this new situation. He wondered how interested she would pretend to be in the class, when he was busy trying to divert her attention…elsewhere.

Besides, it's not like she could blame him for it later. She _had _asked him to stay with her.

Sophia looked up at him warily. Not liking that expression of his. It was that kind of expression that usually got in into hot water. She wasn't too sure if she was looking forward to the next hour or not.

****** 

John braced his hands on his hips as he slowly moved the curtain covering on of the cabin's windows about an inch to the side. Doing a quick sweep of the outside area before letting it fall back into place.

He couldn't help but be extremely tense right now. After Blackstone had taken them to this one room cabin off deep in the woods somewhere, he and Ruby had stayed up most of the night, talking. She explained every aspect she could come up with in regards to being a Skinwalker. She told him more of about the history of the town, of the people. She told him about Vivian, Tyler, Matt, Sophia…her father, her mother… all of them. And they all had one thing in common. They were all part of the Pack.

John turned around to look at Ruby. She was curled up in the middle of the bed, sound asleep. Lines of exhaustion barely visible around her mouth. 

They had both changed, he acknowledged. The two of them had been through hell and back, and John figured that they were going to be heading back there again on a return visit fairly soon, if the rest of the Pack had their way. The storm was already brewing with their search for Ruby.

John hadn't been able to sleep. He knew that the first rule of a cop was to never go without it. You lose sleep, you get careless. You get careless, you get dead. But he felt like someone had pumped his veins full of caffeine. It felt like something was literally crawling beneath his flesh…keeping him on edge. Completely awake. Funny, considering the distance he had run last night, and how tired he had been.

He wondered if maybe he had always known that Ruby was the white wolf. If maybe his heart and soul had recognized her, but his mind hadn't. Why else would he have felt such a link between him and the wolf? Why else had he felt so compelled to save her?

He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to loosen the knots there, as he paced silently over to a wooden chair in the corner, sitting back down once more. His eyes never leaving Ruby.

She had told him about Tyler. Had told him that she had had no choice in the matter. The entire Pack had pushed for the marriage, and Tyler would have killed him if she had refused. That much had been certain.

John hadn't really been surprised by this turn of events, even if his heart had bled at the statement. He had already figured out the truth when he had found out that Tyler had married a mystery woman with the initial R. He wasn't a fool. He knew that everyone in Wolf Lake, even Matt and Sophia, had kept their mouths shut about Ruby's whereabouts _and_ the marriage, and had tried to load him down with false information to keep him from finding out the truth. They had all been in on this big conspiracy to keep Ruby from him.

Ruby had explained to him that it had always been for the safety of the Pack. They guarded this town and the people within it zealously. Their survival had depended on that for hundreds of years. In a way John could understand it, but he also knew that from here on out, every single one of them was a threat to him and to Ruby.

He had asked questions. Trying to make sense of the last couple months. He had asked her to explain why there were so many teens that were buried in the Graveyards. She had explained to him the Flip. Had told them that around half of the them never made it through. They didn't know why that was. Why some were stronger than others. Some blamed the gene pool… others blamed the Nature's selective process. Some way of God's. That He was making sure their numbers stayed small.

Personally, Ruby didn't know what to think. But that had been the reason why her twin sister had died. For some reason she hadn't been able to make it through the Flip when Ruby had. The reasonings behind it didn't make sense, but that was their life. They had learned to live and suffer through loss a long time ago. But it did explain to him why most of the women in Wolf Lake were having multiple pregnancies. 

They were actually having litters. Another example of how completely different a species this was. They had to, to keep up their existence.

He had asked if that was what had happened to Lenore. If she had in some way become stuck between the human and the wolf, and Ruby had told him yes. That particular family had never been very strong. Many of them died during the Change. Others didn't live very long without some sickness or other occurring.

Lenore had been the last of her line. Somehow surviving in that form when others were driven mad by the pain, and granted the mercy of death by their Alpha.

Again, she had explained to him gently, seeing how hard a time he was having sorting this all out. It was their way, and had been such for a very long time.

One of his last questions had been if she had slept with Tyler. 

She had told him no, and for some reason, John believed her Believed that she wouldn't lie to him about something like that. It helped knowing she hadn't become a willing participant in that marriage. The marriage she should have had with him. But it still hurt like hell. Even though he knew she had been kept against her will.

John's eyes narrowed as he thought about Tyler. Knowing that man was the most dangerous enemy he had at the moment. Knowing that no matter what he and Ruby tried to do, it was going to come down to the two of them. Knowing that, eventually, Tyler was going to set his sights on taking him out personally. And John wasn't going to let him take Ruby back to that hellhole without a fight. He had just found her. He didn't plan on letting her out of his sights for a while.

John really didn't know what to think. He saw hundreds of years of blood and death stretching out endlessly for these people, in both directions. What kind of existence was that? What kind of parents could bring children into the world, knowing that only a small percentage were going to survive? 

John felt his heart constrict as he watched Ruby shift her weight on the bed in her sleep. Her t-shirt riding up slightly so he could see the pale pink scar left from the bullet wound. A wound that probably would have killed a human.

On the other hand, they did have amazing abilities. To be able to heal that fast was one thing. But to be able to change their form… John had to admit that that sounded pretty incredible. Maybe that was just the Indian in him. Maybe he was just taking a flight of fancy here, but he could almost see why having that ability just might be worth all the pain and heartache it tended to dish out. 

That to this people, that it just might be an ability worth dying for.

Because, after dealing with everything life had to throw at their species. They still had this one gift that could never be taken away from them. Something that could never be really destroyed. A true freedom from the bindings that held all of us to our destiny here on Earth, A release from all of our restraints placed on us. To be as truly close to freedom as we could possibly become in this lifetime.

Yes, he realized. Whether he liked it or not. He was starting to _believe._

******  

Sophia groaned in relief as she heard the bell ring out it's announcement that the school day was finally over, and she headed for the exit. Managing to beat the rest of the crowd out the doors. Sophia just wanted to go back home. Soak in a tub for a while, and try to forget most of today.

She had been one endless piece of gossip from the moment she had come inside the school doors. As being the half-breed of the town, she had kinda gotten used to it, but not on this kind of scale! They wouldn't shut up about her fight with Presley, or the fact that she had Flipped with Luke. 

They probably wouldn't have cared if she _had _told them the truth of how he had really helped her through it. They probably would have preferred their version anyway. She just wanted to get out of here, and as quickly as possible.

"Hey, do you want me to give you a lift home?"

She looked up to see Luke pull up to the curb in front of the school. She nodded, and was about to open the car door, when she heard Blackstone call out her name right behind her.

She turned back around in confusion. Trying to figure out if she had done something wrong today in class. Granted, she had had her hands full keeping Luke's hands _off, _but she had thought she had been fairly discrete with that. 

She felt a small blush creep up as she thought back on some of the naughty things he had said to her through their private mental link. She would have probably enjoyed herself, if he hadn't decided to do all of that right there in class! He was definitely back to playing the bad boy of Wolf Lake.

Truth be told, she actually liked him that way.

"Is there something wrong?" Sophia asked. Trying to figure what this was all about.

"Everything's fine." Sherman smiled one of his rather goofy ones at her, as he leaned over to look at Luke through the window of his car. "It's okay, Luke. I'll give Sophia that ride home."

Luke looked questioningly at Sophia. "Soph?"

Sophia nodded her consent. Smiling at him assuringly as he began to drive off.

"What's this about?" Sophia asked as Sherman herded her towards his car.

'Oh, nothing bad. I just wanted to have a little chat with you without having to worry about anyone else overhearing."  He looked rather pointedly towards a group of Skinwalkers who were openly studying Sophia as she walked past. That species hearing being what it was, had made it quite apparent that whatever Sherman was going to tell her about her destiny needed to be in private.

"Look, if this is about what was happening in class…" Sophia started state as she slid into Blackstone's car.

Sherman chuckled as he slid into the driver's side and started the engine. Knowing what she was referring to. "No, don't worry. It's not about that."

Sophia blushed again as she realized that he _had_ noticed what had been going on. So much for being discrete.

"So what is this about?" She asked warily. Looking over at him, as they pulled out of the school parking lot.

"I wanted to see how're you doing… after Friday night."

Sophia relaxed. "I'm fine. I'm still trying to get used to everything…but I think I'll be okay." Sophia paused a for a moment. Thinking back on the time that Sherman had helped her at the Diner, when she had had those warning flashes and had almost passed out.

"I guess I wasn't as strong as you thought, huh?" She asked quietly. Remembering the words he had spoken to her that day.

"Hey!" Sherman chastised her, "You are _stronger_ than what even I originally thought you were going to be, so don't go putting yourself down. You went through an extremely difficult process, and managed to survive it, where a good portion of full-blooded Skinwalkers have died. The combination of your mother's DNA with your father's, has not weakened you like the rest of them like to think."

"What do you mean?" Sophia asked quietly. Brushing back a loose strand of hair that had fallen into her face.

"I mean that, you are every bit as strong as they are. You're special, Sophia. You don't even realize just how much yet."

Sherman stared back resolutely at the road in front of him. "But you will. Soon."

Sophia looked at him strangely, but didn't say anything till she noticed they weren't heading towards her place.

"Where are we going?" She asked, rather paranoid at this change of events.

"We're going back to my place. I've got a little history lesson I need to show you." He smiled reassuringly at her.

"Why couldn't we have done this back at the school?"

"Because this is a private matter that you need to hear about. The history of the Pack, and how they came to be here in Wolf Lake."

Sophia's curiosity was peaked now, so she kept silent the rest of the way to his home.

****** 

As Sophia stepped into Blackstone's house, a frown creased her brow. She was picking up a few scents that didn't quite make sense as to why they were both there together.

"Ruby has been here." She stated quietly. Not even phrasing it like a question. Positive that her sense of smell was correct.

"Yes." Sherman answered her. Acknowledging that she was correct, as he stepped past her. Tossing his keys down on the coffee table.

"With John." Sophia looked at Sherman in revelation. Realizing what he had done.

Sherman gazed back at her innocently. "Really? Wow. I guess I'll have to install a better security alarm system when I'm not here."  
  


Sophia just crossed her arms. Her look stating quite clearly that it was beneath him to take her as a fool.

Sherman just chuckled as he shed his coat. "You plan on telling anyone?" 

Sophia shook her head resignedly. Holding up her hands "Hey, it's on your head, not mine. I was never here."

"Alright then. If we're done with the smelling test, sit down over there," he pointed towards the couch. "And I'll bring some texts over that I want to discuss with you." He disappeared into one of the back rooms in the house.

Sophia sat down carefully on the couch. The combined smell of Ruby and John was the strongest here, and she could also pick up the scent of blood. Ruby's as well as a small amount of John's. Even though all traces of it had been removed carefully by Sherman. 

Sophia didn't know where they were, but she hoped they were okay.

****** 

"I still don't understand what your purpose was for this private lesson, Sherman." Sophia gritted out as she leaned back into the couch, Rubbing the back of her neck. He had just taken her through the basic history of Wolf Lake and the Pack. Explaining all about the last remaining survivors of what was once a species of thousands, and their need to leave the Dark Ages behind them, and travel to a New World.

She had learned about the Alpha male and his mate, who had actually been the true Leader of the Pack… and one of the few white wolves down through their history, and the significance of what the white female was. She had to admit, she found it very fascinating, what with Ruby being the last white wolf to be borne since then.

But she still didn't understand why this had to be discussed in private. Why had Sherman wanted her here to discuss the basic history of the Pack, for the last hour?

'The white wolf's significance has always been chalked up to being the strongest of the females, and thus destined to be the mate of the Alpha," Sherman continued. Ignoring Sophia's question. "But in truth, there arrival has always signified that danger was heading for the Pack. Some massive change that would alter their course. The white wolf was prophesized as being the one to led them from that danger, which was the reason why this particular female that I've been telling you about, was actually the leader of the Pack. Her mate knew that only she could save their species, and he was right. She led them to Wolf Lake." Sherman paused long enough to pick another one of his volumes. This one very old, and barely holding together. Stains covered it's cover and binder, and Sophia had a sinking suspicion that those stains were probably from blood spilled a couple hundred years ago.

"I'm still confused as to what this has to do with me being here." Sophia stated quietly. Watching him thumb through the ancient document.

Sherman glanced up at her. "Because the child that she bore, was the start of your lineage, Sophia."

That got her attention. "You mean that this… white female who is responsible for saving our species from extinction is one of _my _ancestors?"

Sherman's  nod was her answer. He was still looking through that document for something.

Sophia sat back, stunned. "Does Dad know about this?"

"No, I never told him."

"Why not?"

"Because it was never relevant at the time."

"So, then why are you telling me?"

"I'm about to show you." Sherman had obviously located whatever he had been looking for, and he handed the document carefully to her. Sophia gingerly picked it up. Feeling the brittleness of the parchment under her fingertips.

"What do you want me to read?" she asked quietly, scanning the various verses handwritten there in barely recognizable English.

"Right there." Sherman's finger marked the passage, and he waited as she scanned it.

Frowning, Sophia looked back up at him. "I don't understand."

"Read it out loud." He instructed. Waiting as she sighed in exasperation and did as he asked.

"In the age of the Blood Moon, when its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors, and the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor… the form of the white wolf will appear once again… But to battle the oncoming Darkness, it's soul will reside… not in the shell of One… but in that of Two…" Sophia trailed off as she looked back at Sherman. "What is this supposed to mean?"

Sherman paused as he contemplated the girl in front of him, before answering. "Tell me, Sophia. Have you bothered to check out what color you are?"

Sophia felt her heart leap as the meaning of his words sunk in, and she felt the room begin to tilt around her.

"You can't be serious." She whispered. Her voice shaky.

Sherman rubbed his forehead tiredly. "I wish I wasn't, but you are the second white wolf spoken of in that prophecy. Which means the Pack is heading straight into hell once more."

"And Ruby and I are supposed to stop it?" Sophia's mouth felt dry as she tried to swallow around the lump forming hard in her throat. Unable to fully comprehend what he was telling her. 

"That I don't know, Sophia. I don't know what kind of role you two are going to play over the next couple of weeks."

Sophia picked up on that. "The next couple of weeks? Are you telling me that this Darkness spoken of here in this verse is already that close to the Pack?" She couldn't believe what he was telling her here.

"I'm afraid so," he confirmed seriously. Eyes sad. "The Hunters have resurfaced. The descendants of the original group that had nearly hunted your species into extinction have found out that a Pack still exists . And they won't be satisfied till they have killed every man, woman, and child in Wolf Lake. Regardless of whether or not there are humans amongst them."

"They can't wipe out an entire town!" Sophia protested. 

"They can and they will!" Sherman tried to quiet his tone when he saw the young girl across from him flinch slightly at his tone.

"I would have warned the Pack sooner, except I didn't know about it till last night." He continued, "And they've already zoomed in on Wolf Lake… It's now just a matter of time before they come. If they aren't already here."

Sophia sat there in the silence, before speaking up. "You're going to have to let the rest of the Pack know about this." She couldn't live with a secret this big.

"I plan on talking with Vivian in a couple of hours." Sherman confirmed. Standing up from his chair across from Sophia. She stood as well, unsure of what to say.

"The main thing you need to do, is keep quiet for the time being about what you are." Sherman instructed as he put the old document away. "The time will come when you will need to reveal yourself, but for the sake of the Pack, you must remain silent, until I tell you to step forward. Do you understand? You can't even tell your father." If Sherman's hunch was correct, then it was extremely important that she do as he asked. Lives may depend on it. Including her own.

Sophia nodded her head mutely. Then she asked, "Does Luke know?"

"Yes, Luke knows about you being a white female, but he doesn't know the full truth about the prophecy… Only that it is important that he remain quiet about what you are for the time being." Sherman glanced down at his watch. "Now, I'm going to take you home. There is somewhere I need to go before I meet with Vivian."

Sherman hustled Sophia out of his house and into his vehicle. Driving in silence till he dropped her off.

"Remember," he leaned over as Sophia slid out of the car. "Not a word to anyone about what we've discussed, Sophia. I need you to trust in my judgment on this."

Sophia studied his face before answering. "I promise." With that, she walked rather robotically into her house. Locking the door securely behind her.

Sherman put the car in gear, and pulled out of the driveway. Heading towards a destination that no one else was aware existed in Wolf Lake. At least he hoped so.

It was time that he had another talk with John and Ruby.

TBC

************************************************  

Okay! That's it for this chapter! I'll be concluding soon with Part Two! Don't forget to review! Tell me which part of this chapter you liked best!

(Sapphira)


	6. Ep 14, Stars of Passion, Part Two

Chapter 6, Ep. 14 – "Stars of Passion, Part Two"

Author's Note – Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you guys are still enjoying the progress of this story! Again, I'm sorry that it took me longer than I was originally shooting for to get this chapter posted. FF.net was down for two days, so I didn't get this chapter posted when I wanted to. Blame it on them! Not me!

But anyways, now that I have finished my rant, this is the chapter in which the rating goes up to R, so consider yourself warned! (grin) I tried to do my best with the upcoming love scenes, to keep it focused on the emotional, spiritual and poetic aspect, instead of becoming too descriptive or I guess what they refer to as SMUT (would someone mind telling me what that means anyway? I could never figure it out), in order to keep this piece under what they consider to be NC-17ish. But at the same time, be descriptive just enough, so all of you will enjoy! It is erotic, but not as much as I could have made it, if ff.net didn't approve!

Let's face it, I'm a romance author at heart!

This ep. is dedicated to Ashley (AKA Angelgurl 1628) who was just recently in a car accident, but doing well. This one is for you, girl! Feel better soon!

Don't forget to review, people!! I know there are a lot of people reading this story that are not reviewing my chapters, so please, PLEASE REVIEW! And get descriptive… tell me what your favorite part or parts were! I like to get reviews like that, that explain just WHY you like my story! It gets my muse going! 

Enjoy!

Summery – Sophia tries to come to terms with discovering the truth about her destiny, as John confronts the biggest challenge of his life as he begins down his own path in the Skinwalker legacy, while Ruby desperately tries to hold on to the man she loves… As the danger around them starts to close in…

Chapter 6, Ep. 14 – "Stars of Passion, Part Two"

John visibly stiffened as he heard a vehicle approaching the cabin. His hand quickly went for his gun tucked into the clean pair of blue jeans he was wearing. 

He quickly checked to make sure it was loaded before he beckoned at Ruby to get down.

"Skinwalkers wouldn't use a car to get here." She pointed out, even though she did as he asked.

"Skinwalkers aren't the only ones after us." He remarked dryly. Waiting as he heard the car get closer and closer. Funny. The vehicle must not have a muffler on it for him to have heard it from that distance. Definitely not a smart move if the person approaching was hunting them.

Ruby listened carefully, but didn't get up from her crouch by the bed. "It's Sherman's car." She stated quietly. She looked back at John, suddenly confused as to how he was able to hear the vehicle when only her wolven hearing could pick it up at the moment.

John looked at her, eyebrow raised. But he didn't bother to ask just _how_ she knew that.

Ruby smiled at him, forgetting her confusion as she saw the expression on his face. "Skinwalker hearing."

John shook his head. He turned back towards the door. He didn't care who's vehicle it was. It could be anyone or _anything_ driving.

John positioned himself close to the window. Waiting till her heard the car pull up and stop, the door open and shut, before he glanced outside. He relaxed visibly, and Ruby sprung back up onto her feet. Waiting till Sherman had come inside and had shut the door, before she came up behind John and wrapped her arms securely around his waist. Still not quite able to believe he was here and that he knew the truth.

She felt the warmth of his body invade hers as he reached his arm around the back of her shoulders, bringing her round to his side and firmly pressed up against him. She snuggled in closer. Wanting to stay that way forever.

"Alright, you two lovebirds. Enough is enough." Sherman griped good naturedly at them, before making use of the only chair in the room. "I brought you some food. I figured you had to be hungry."

Ruby perked up at that. Sniffing slightly. "Do I smell barbeque ribs?"

Sherman grinned at her as he tossed her one of the bags. 

"Thanks." Ruby reluctantly pulled away from John long enough to set the bag down on the nightstand beside the bed. She was going to wait until Sherman left before eating. Her and John both were sensing that there was something else of Sherman's mind than just food.

"What's up?" John asked. Sitting down on the edge of the bed. Ruby climbed up on the mattress behind him. Draping her arms securely around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder. John reached up to clasp her joined hands with one of his.

"I have some news for you." Sherman stated quietly. "Matthew Donner's daughter, Sophia, managed to successfully Flip a few days ago. Luke created a mind link between the two of them to get her through it when she got stuck. But she's okay now. They both seem to be… quite into each other." Sherman smiled secretively at that. Remembering earlier today in class.

"Luke has chosen Sophia?" Ruby asked. Rather surprised by this turn of events. She had known that her half-brother had always been rather drawn to the girl. But she hadn't thought he was so interested in her that he would give up Presley and his chance to be Alpha for her. She had never thought him to be the type that would become emotionally involved with someone who wasn't even fully of the Blood. She hadn't ever really talked that much with Sophia, but she had always liked the girl. Recognizing in her the same temperament within herself that had driven her to leave Wolf Lake. The girl did have spirit, even if she didn't know it yet. So she actually was kinda proud of Luke to fly in the face of tradition. Good for them both. At least she wasn't the only one to be causing a stir in Wolf Lake.

"It would appear that way." Sherman acknowledged. Smiling again. "She threw Presley clear across the bathroom last night at the Diner, when she tried to threaten Sophia into submission. She then went out and claimed Luke. And Luke then surprised everyone _else_ in the room, by turning around and claiming her right back. They've been the talk of the Pack ever since."

Ruby smirked at that, mentally congratulating the girl, before going back and thinking through what Sherman had said… _She threw Presley clear across the bathroom last night at the Diner, when she tried to threaten Sophia into submission._

Ruby's eyes narrowed at that. Trying to figure out why that had grabbed her attention so. It sounded similar to the things she had done when she had just Flipped… Something that only a…

"Matthew has also finally gone back to his wolf pelt." Sherman mentioned. Shocking Ruby into forgetting her previous line of thought.

"What does Vivian have to say about that?" Ruby asked warily. She had always liked Matthew. Had asked him to give her away in that farce of a marriage to Tyler. But she also knew that he and her step mother had once almost become mates… And that Vivian was aching to have him back.

Sherman shrugged. "Don't know, I haven't talked to Vivian yet." Silence descended around the cabin, like an uncomfortable cloak.

John had remained silent through most of this exchange, before becoming rather impatient. "Blackstone, something tells me you didn't risk coming all the way up here just to repeat all the recent news in Wolf Lake's Skinwalker grape vine!"

Ruby had to agree. Something big was on Sherman's mind, and it was something that he wasn't very sure about how to go about saying. 

And Ruby and John had never seen Sherman have a problem with words before. Just what the hell was going on?

Sherman began to nod. "You're right. I have some things to tell you, but it's going to take me some time to get it all out, so bare with me."

He started by basically repeating everything that he had told Sophia earlier. Discussing this Society that they had run into, and the Hunters that they were working for, and the threat represented to the Pack. Ruby's face paled significantly as he explained to them that these Hunters were the descendants of the original group that had nearly drove them to extinction over 200 hundred years ago. And that judging by what he had already been able to put together, these Hunters were already charging up for a full on assault on Wolf Lake.

"They wouldn't try to pull anything with all the humans in the town, would they?" John asked quietly. The cop within him assimilating the information quickly. Trying to piece together a solution.

Sherman's gaze hardened. "I don't think it's going to stop them." He stated. "They're going to try to wipe out the entire town."

"But how could they do that? There is a fairly substantial population here. What are they going to do that is going to keep the rest of the world from figuring out what has happened here?"

Sherman shook his head. "We don't now the size of this Society, nor their determination to destroy your species. There could be hundreds of them for all we know. They know how to track down the Skinwalkers, and for every one that we will probably succeed in killing, another two will pop up in their place. They're like locusts. We couldn't stop them before, and I don't know how we're going to stop them now."

"What do you mean, they know how to track us?" Ruby asked. A frown spreading across her forehead.

"Again, I don't know how they do it. With modern technology the way it is, there is no telling what they've come up with. What kind of scanners or devices they've designed to take down those of your kind. You have to keep in mind, this is what they believe they were borne for. They were raised from birth to believe in this cause. Nothing will change the fact that people are going to die. Whether the larger portion will be on their side, or ours, I don't know."

"Is there anything that can be done?" Ruby asked. Her voice a mere whisper as she tried to comprehend what he was telling them.

Sherman sighed as he ran his hands tiredly through his hair. "Again, I don't know. I can only go on the past history of your species, and what the prophecy that I managed to find a few days back states. I don't have anything else to go on right now."

"What prophecy?" Ruby asked, confused.

Sherman pulled out a sheet from his pocket, and handed it to Ruby. It was a copy of the original that he had made.

Ruby quickly read it over. Her hand gripping John's shoulder tightly as she read the passage. Realizing that the reference to the white wolves included her. She handed it mutely back to John.

"I don't think I'm fully with you on this." John pointed out as he handed it back to Sherman in confusion. "What does it mean?"

"In the history of the Skinwalkers, there have only been a few white females to come along." Sherman stated quietly. This sounding familiar. "The last one before Ruby was the Leader of the remaining Skinwalkers, who rescued her people and brought them to Wolf Lake."

John nodded his head, "Yeah, I remember you telling me about her."

"Well, the white female only comes along when a serious danger is represented to the Pack. She is stronger, and has abilities we can only begin to imagine. Her destiny is to save the Pack from whatever mess it has wondered into…"

"Okay…" John prompted. Waiting for Sherman to finish his sentence. Ruby decided to jump in and finish it herself.

"Despite how bad things where back then," she started softly, voice echoing around the quiet room. "There still had been only one white wolf. For it to be prophesied that there will be the birth of two, means that whatever the Pack is heading for, it's even worse than that."

Sherman nodded his head. "Quite possibly." 

"But, do you even know if there is another white female in the Pack? This prophecy might not even be accurate for this timeline if the other white female hasn't been borne yet." John asked suddenly. Ruby looked back over to Sherman, wondering that herself. How could it be that a white female had been borne and nobody knew about it. Unless…

"It's Sophia." Ruby realized out loud. Not even making it into a question. Everything was starting to fit together now.

Sherman just looked back at her. 

"Sophia?" John looked back from Ruby to Sherman. Trying to figure out why Ruby seemed so stunned by this revelation.

"It has never been believed that a Skinwalker who was part human would be able to manage a Flip. Much less be a white female." Sherman stated quietly. Neither confirming nor denying that Sophia was who Ruby was thinking she was.

"Which is why she had been able to remain anonymous all these years." Ruby sighed as let her chin fall back to John's shoulder. Silently shaking her head in disbelief.

"Have you alerted the rest of the…Pack… to this danger?" John asked. Having trouble wrapping his tongue around the word.

"That's where I'll be going next, but there is something else that I need to tell you, John. Something very important. It can't be put off any longer."

John felt a trickle of unease run down his back as he saw Sherman's expression. What ever it was, he knew he wasn't going to like it. Ruby picked her head back up alertly. Focusing in on Sherman. Her arm arms tightening slightly around John's neck. Her own heart flickered in alarm. Somehow, she knew this was going to be serious.

"What is it?" she asked quietly. Silver eyes flickering subtly.

"John, you were adopted, were you not?" Sherman asked, throwing John of balance with the strange question.

"Um, yes. I was." 

"Did you ever find out who your real parents were?"

John's jaw tightened. "The people who raised me were my parents. I gave up on my birth parents when they gave up me."

"So, you _do_ remember them?"

John eyed him warily. "Not really. Just a couple of bits and pieces. Feelings mostly, when I was taken away from them. I was very young."

"Sherman, what is this about?" Ruby asked impatiently. Feeling how much this subject was disturbing John.

"I'm getting around to that, Ruby. Just hold on." Sherman paused for a moment. Gathering his thoughts. He rubbed the back of his neck tiredly.

"I did some research of my own since last night. I went back and looked at the files kept by the previous Keeper, and discovered some very interesting things about your parents, John."

John swallowed visibly. Really not liking the turn this conversation was going. Sherman just continued.

"It seems your grandfather was a Skinwalker. He had married a local girl of Indian heritage, and they had a son. Your father. Your father, when he turned eighteen, left Wolf Lake and never came back. He moved away, met your mother, and they had you. Shortly after, for whatever reason, they gave you up." Sherman didn't add that he figured the reason that they had given John up was because members of the Pack had been searching for him. Figuring that John's father was too much of a loose cannon to let run around town.

"Why did they go after him?" Ruby put two plus two together, and figured out what that reason had been for John's parents abandoning him. They had been trying to save him. "Had he managed to Flip?"

"No. he never did. But I guess, during that upheaval between the members of the Pack, it didn't matter. They wanted his entire bloodline destroyed." 

"John cleared his throat. Visibly paler. "So, what exactly is this supposed to mean?"

"It would have meant nothing. Because you are so far removed from the ability to Flip, you wouldn't have had to worry about it."

"But?" Ruby asked quietly Already having a sinking suspicion as to where this was going.

"You had a transfusion of Ruby's blood. Which has now triggered a Change from within you. That is why you were able to run the distance the way you did last night. The reason why you haven't been able to sleep very soundly. Your warning visions have already begun." Sherman watched calmly as the panic started to spread over  John's face.

"You can't be serious." John voice wavered slightly. Ruby looked back and forth between him and Sherman in stunned silence. Silver eyes wide and unblinking. Suddenly… as crazy as this all sounded to her, it actually was starting to make sense.

Sherman just looked back at him.

"Wait a minute, what exactly are you saying here?" Ruby asked. She knew that it was impossible for a full-blooded human to be converted, so it only stood that Sherman was correct about his lineage. Besides, there had always been something about John… something that had drawn her to him when they had first met. Something just below the surface that had tantalized her from the beginning.

But this… this was serious. If her blood was transforming John into a Skinwalker, than there was a lot more danger here for him than what Tyler or the rest of the Pack could throw at him. If you didn't make the Change before a particular age, you didn't make it at all. And it was increasingly difficult to make the Change regardless of what age you were. Sex just happened to be the only thing that allowed some measure of relief from the actual Flip. It sped up the process, and reduced the extreme nature of the Flip. But it wasn't a guarantee. Many a Skinwalker youth had to deal with the fact their lover might die in their arms.

"I think you know what I'm saying, Ruby." Sherman pointed out quietly. "Just sense it yourself, and you'll see what I mean."

Sherman looked back and forth between the shell-shocked couple. "I think I'll leave now," he remarked as he stood up and headed to the door. Stopping to turn around once more before opening it.

"Keep in mind, you two. Things are starting to head into boiling water for the Pack. They're as much a danger to themselves as the Hunters are to them. You have to be at full strength to deal with what is about to happen, because whether you like it or not, Both of your destinies are wrapped up very securely within it." He looked at John. "Decisions have to made and made quickly. You are going to have to take advantage of every leverage that you've been offered. Even if that requires you leaving behind _everything_ that you've ever known about yourself to be true."

With that, Sherman slipped out the door. Leaving John and Ruby sitting there in the silence. Ruby leaned her forehead against John's shoulder, as he closed his eyes in disbelief. Slightly shaking his head.

****** 

As soon as Sophia shut the door behind her after going into her room, she felt her legs go out from underneath her, and her back slid down the wall as she crumpled to the floor.

What did one do, she wondered, when they found out that a path had been selected for them in which they didn't want anything to do with? What did one do, when they found out that the survival of the entire Pack might rest on their shoulders?

Sophia didn't want any part in that role. She was only a teenager, and not ready emotionally to tackle something like this. She had just recently Flipped, for heaven's sake! Now… now she was even more confused than ever. Just who was Sophia Donner? Because _she_ sure as hell didn't know. She didn't even recognize the person staring back at her from her mirror across the room.

Sophia thought back on what the prophecy had said, and she felt sick to her stomach. Whatever was coming, it didn't sound very good. What was going to happen to the Pack? To her father, to Luke, to her? Why did she have to have the responsibility of being the second white female? What was going to happen that would make it necessary for there to be two, when even when their species had nearly been exterminated 200 years ago, they're had been only one?

What was going to happen that would be so much more brutal than the massacres committed against their kind in the Old World?

And just what was expected from her? What were two white females going to do that one couldn't? And just what the hell _exactly _was a white female? How was she any different than the others, other than the fact she seemed to be stronger? There were plenty of people in the Pack more worthy of leading than her, so why couldn't they do it?

Just what was her abilities? What was she capable of? And why did it have to be _her?_

Sophia felt her restrained emotions rise the surface, and she couldn't stop the flood of tears that finally escaped from her eyes. She curled up there on the carpet of her room and sobbed. The sound echoing through to her soul.

****** 

Luke had just stepped out of the shower at his home when he felt it strike him like a kick in the gut. Something was wrong with Sophia. He could feel her pain as clearly through their link as if it was happening to himself. He stood there, still and silent as droplets of water trickled down his body. Just… sensing.

The panic he had felt when the wave had first hit him eased up around his heart. Whatever had happened, the pain was emotional, not physical.

Luke didn't bother grabbing a towel as he walked out of the bathroom and into the hall. There was no one in the house other than his mother in the downstairs parlor, and modesty wasn't exactly one of Luke's virtues.

He didn't bother with the stairs. Instead, he placed one hand on the banister, and effortlessly swung himself up and over. Dropping down a good twenty feet to land lightly on the bottom floor in a crouch.

Vivian looked up in surprise, watching her son pad of bare feet, completely naked, to the back exit of the house. The glow to his eyes and the scent of the Change close at hand recognizable as it hung heavy in the air.

"Luke, what's wrong?" She asked, stepping out of the Parlor to watch his progression towards the exit. Noting that something had him stirred up.

"Something is wrong with Sophia." He stated quietly, swinging open the door to reveal the forest beyond it. The sun was setting, and soon night would descend. 

"Is she hurt?" Vivian asked, alert and tense. Knowing that something must be seriously wrong with the girl for Luke to sense her distress. The vibes coming from him was dangerous and dark, and Vivian was rather surprised at the aggression within Luke battling for control. She pitied the male who ever tried to take Sophia away from him. She had never seen him like this before, but the way he was acting was typical for a male of their species to react to the emotional or physical pain of their chosen.

But it still didn't mean that Luke wasn't extremely dangerous at the moment.

"I don't think so. Stay here." He ordered over his shoulder. "I'll call if you're needed."

Vivian leaned her hip against the wall of the hallway as she saw Luke quickly shift into his wolven pelt, and dart into the woods. She hoped that he knew what he was getting into, becoming so involved with that girl.

Of course, she shook her head wryly, she wasn't doing that very well either with the girl's father.

****** 

Sophia didn't know how long she had been sitting there, just staring at her reflection in the mirror. The tears had long since vanished, but she still felt hollow inside. She knew she needed to get up, but she couldn't find the strength to do so.

She sensed more than heard Luke slip through the door leading out to her porch. She ducked her head down to look at her lap. Dark hair swinging around to curtain part of her face. She studied her long nails quietly. Feeling Luke probing at the surface of her mind. Trying to figure out what exactly had happened.

Judging by the way she looked, and who he had left her with, it didn't take Luke long to put two plus two together.

"Sherman told you what you are, didn't he?" he asked quietly. Leaning down in a crouch in front of her. Placing his fingertips on her chin and gently tilting her face up so he could look at her. His jaw clenched when he saw the glitter of fear and hopelessness in her eyes. She didn't even seem to be aware of the fact that he was standing in front of her completely naked. The scent of the forest and the wolf still clinging securely to his human flesh.

Sophia didn't answer him, she couldn't. It wasn't so much because of the fact that she was a white wolf. That and by itself was something she thought could deal with. The reason why she was so afraid was because of the prophecy and this Darkness that it had spoken of. And Sherman's belief that it was already bearing down on them. Which meant she didn't get a chance to try to adapt to discovering the true meaning of her color. She had become a unwilling recruit in this battle, that she hadn't even known anything about till just a few hours ago. And she was faced with the possibility that if she messed up…if she did the wrong thing… the entire Pack and everyone she loved was going to die.

How could she explain to Luke her fears when Sherman had made her promise not to tell anyone?

(Author's Note and Soundtrack Suggestion – Okay, the song is "Let Me In" by Save Ferris on the Album "Modified." I don't really like the rest of Save Ferris's songs, but this one is just…WOW! I've always loved it, and I knew that I wanted to infiltrate this story somewhere with the use of this song, and I've finally come up with the right scene for it. So, this next part is going to sort of be almost like a Songficish thing, as I will have snippets of the lyrics throughout it… I hope everyone likes. I nearly cried writing it. The song really fits the insecurity that Sophia and Luke are both feeling, as well as the emotional distress Sophia is relaying to him. Pop this song in if you have it! Keep in mind that, once this entire story is completed, I plan on posting a Soundtrack chapter, which will have all the lyrics to the songs I've selected for my chapters, and where most of them can be downloaded SAFELY and for free, or it not downloaded, where samples can be heard… I think it'll help those who have never heard the music, understand why I selected the songs I did.)

Luke felt unsure of himself. What Sophia was feeling was intense and frightening. He had known she would have been shocked when she had found out the significance of her color, but he hadn't expected the extreme nature of her actual emotions in regards to finally finding out. He knew instinctively that there was something she wasn't telling him. There had been something else that Sherman had told her about that was frightening her now. Something that had shaken her right down to her soul. And for some reason, she didn't seem to be able to tell him.
    
    _I've been watching you and all you do, for quite some time…_

"Baby, what is it?" He asked softly. His heart breaking at the look within her eyes. 

_…Knowing all the ins and outs of you, I should have known what was on your mind… _

Sophia just shook her head silently. Feeling tears burning under her lips once again. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Luke's neck. Pulling herself up into his embrace. Clinging to him as if clinging to a lifeline.

_…But all the world is spinning round and round, inside my head tonight…_

Luke held her tightly to him. His hand cradling the back of her head. Holding it securely to his chest, as her fingers dug into the skin shoulder blades. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he felt her body tremble against him. Desperately wanting to know why she was in so much pain.

_…I will fall into the darkness, and I fear I will never see the light…the light…_

Sophia closed her eyes tightly as Luke soothed her gently. She felt some of her panic, some of her fear begin to fade with the contact. She was suddenly able to breathe easier. Her body was starting to subtly hint to her that he wasn't wearing any clothes, and she felt her blood suddenly heat in response. She felt the expanse of skin covering his chest even through her clothes.

_…So let me in…_

"Are you going to tell me what it is that is really bothering you?" He inquired as he sensed her emotions being soothed back down. His male ego silently flattered when he sensed her desire stirring to the surface.

Sophia sniffed. Shaking her head, she leaned back to look at him. Studying his face, his concern. She felt a strange tightening suddenly come over her heart as she watched him. Realizing that she was falling in love with him.

_…All that I wanted from you…_

"I can't." She answered. "I wish I could, but I can't." Her palms rubbed his shoulders, feeling the bare skin there. They trailed down over his chest. Luke swallowed as his body suddenly clenched at the innocent contact, and he closed his eyes tightly. Restraining himself from pulling her back into his arms. Because he knew if he did, it would be with the intention of _inflaming. _Not soothing. His hands fell from around her waist to rest lightly on her thighs. Feeling the heat of her body even though her clothes.

_…Was something you'd never do…_

"Luke…" she whispered. Confusion filling her gaze as she suddenly felt very unsure of herself.

_…So let me in, oh please tonight…_

"Shhh… It's okay." Luke reached a hand up to cup her face. Slowly leaning forward to gently press his lips to hers. Feeling them tremble under the pressure. Her tears close to the surface yet again. She kissed him back softly. The salt from her tears tasted on his tongue.

_…Don't let this end…Tonight…I'll fall…_

Luke slowly pulled her back up to her feet. Feeling her exhaustion and confusion beating at her. She felt like she was lost, and Luke wasn't going to take advantage of her like that. He wanted her with every fiber of his being, but he was going to take this slow.

 For once, Lucas Cates was putting someone else's needs above his own.

 Gently swinging her up in his arms, he walked over to her bed. After setting her down, he slowly got in as well. Pulling her body up close to his, encouraging her to go to sleep.

_…Through no light the darkness seems to be, so very strong…_

Sophia curled her body in as close as she could possibly get to Luke. Feeling his warmth penetrating into her suddenly slightly chilled flesh. She lay there trustingly in his arms, despite the fact that he was completely naked, and listened to the slow, steady rhythm of his heart. Her own was slowing down from it's erratic pace. Matching his.

_…How does one alone against the world, find the strength to carry on…?_

God help her, but she was starting to fall for him. 

Slowly but surely over the last few days, he had revealed a side of himself to her that she had been too afraid to hope existed. He had slowly but surely penetrated the hardened layers around her tender heart, and had made his way deep within her soul. And now she felt fear of a different nature come over her. He could break her so easily if he hurt her now. She just prayed that this side of him that she had fallen in love with, was real and true. She hoped it wasn't yet another version of Lucas Cates that would disappear the moment he had gotten what he wanted from her.

_…'Cuz you won't let me in…_

She knew that it would have eventually come down to whether or not she trusted him with her heart. But now that that time was here, she wasn't sure if she was capable of setting herself up for that kind of heartache that would surely follow if he betrayed her.

_…All that I wanted from you, was something you'd never do, so let me in, oh please, tonight… _

Luke tilted his head up slightly. Feeling Sophia gently bury her face in the curve of his neck as he held her. Waiting  for her to go to sleep. He could feel her desire. Could sense her fear in finally giving in to him. Knew that she was afraid that he would hurt her yet again.

_…Don't let this end. Tonight. 'Cuz I'm starting to fall…So let me in…_

He could only pray that she would be willing to take that chance, and trust that she would believe him when he told her she was the only one he wanted to run under the stars with…

_…It was all that I wanted from you…It was something you never knew… To let me in…So, please tonight… Don't let this end…Tonight…_

_I fall…_

****** 

John's mind had been racing since the moment that Sherman had left. This…just couldn't be real. This had to be another delusion or dream or something…

But he knew in his soul that it wasn't. In fact, it was the only thing that made any sense. He had been able to do things that he'd never been able to do before. He could see almost perfectly in the dark. He was stronger, faster… he had carried a 100 pound wolf for miles at a dead run, never stopping, for heaven's sake! He didn't care who you were, the human body wasn't capable of completing that kind of feat.

Ruby sat there across from him, finishing up her dinner. Her eyes were sad as she watched John pace around the room. The light from the fire the only thing illuminating the one-room cabin. It's flickering light casting shadows across his features. 

She hadn't wanted this for him. It was one thing for her to ask him to deal with what she was – and that was something he was accomplishing very well – but it was a different thing to ask him to deal with the fact that he was _becoming _what she was.

She had never heard of a case like this before. Had never heard of a distantly removed descendant of a Skinwalker, converting to that of full blood with the use of a transfusion.

She only prayed that, seeing as how she had never heard of that happening, that the same would go for John surviving a Flip this late in life.

"John, you need to sit down, and try to be calm." Ruby's firm request brought John up short. He paused in his mad pacing long enough to look at her, jaw tightening as he saw the same concern and fear reflected in her eyes that he was currently feeling himself.

"What is this supposed to mean, Ruby?" his voice was hoarse from emotion as he sat down on the mattress beside her. "I mean, you told me that the teenagers of this town weren't surviving the Flip once they went past a certain age, and I'm supposed to be any different?"

Ruby sighed as she ran her hand through her hair. Pushing the thick fall back from her face. She shook her head. "I don't know what to say John. You're not the same as us. You were a descendent of a Skinwalker two generations removed, and then given a large dose of my blood…a white wolf's blood.  This kind of thing has never happened before, so I don't know how it's all going to turn out. But I do know this," Ruby cupped his chin in her hand to tilt his face towards hers. "You ARE going to Flip, John. You don't have a choice. If you fight it, the more chance it'll kill you."

"So I'm just supposed to…give in to it?" John's tone suggested he would rather do anything but.

Ruby swallowed hard. "I can't lose you John. Not again."

John's heart constricted painfully as he saw the tears and the fear of being alone reflected in her eyes. He pulled her securely into his arms. Pressing her face into the curve of his neck.

Ruby clung to him firmly. As if merely holding on to him would keep him anchored at her side for all time.

"You've had the visions, right? The dreams? Of being a wolf?" She asked quietly. Voice muffled against his body.

John nodded slowly. "They started when the transfusion took place. What do they mean, Ruby?"

Ruby sniffed as she pulled away from him. Her hand darting up to swipe away the tears clinging to her eyelashes. "It means your Change is very close at hand. Those…visions are the warning signs that our species will have before they Flip for the first time."

(Author's Note – Remember all those little things Sophia kept having during the show? The visions as well as the dreams? Well, same thing was beginning to happen to John during the last ep. Which is why I believe very strongly that if the show had continued, John becoming a Skinwalker was going to be the path the producers would have chosen. They were already setting it up for it when the show was cancelled. Just wanted to point that out!)

John nodded slowly. "So what's going to happen now?"

Ruby looked back at him for a moment before continuing. "The Flip is very painful and sometimes very long, and in that length, extremely dangerous. But there is a way around a very good portion of that, and I really think that is the best way to go, given the fact that this has never been done before in our history."

"And what way is that?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Ruby couldn't help the smile spreading across her face. It was a look that John knew very well, and he felt his blood heat in response. He reached out his hand and brought it around the back of Ruby's neck. Thumb gently rubbing across the pulse under her jaw. Ruby closed her eyes at the sensuous motion.

"John, are you sure about this?" Ruby asked cautiously. Studying him closely as she awaited his answer. Her inner wolf instincts crying out for the contact that their lovemaking would bring, but she hadn't been able to date John as long as she had in Seattle without developing an art of suppressing the wolf within. But it still didn't mean that she didn't _want _him.

John's hand remained where it was, positioned directly behind her neck. "I do know that things aren't going to get any easier around Wolf Lake, if what Sherman told us was true. I also know that this…situation within myself, isn't going to go away. You've been telling me the pros and cons of being what you are for the last 24 hours. I've seen things…that I'm not even sure about. I only know this. I'm not going to just walk away from this. I'm not just going to pretend as if none of this exists. I've seen that it does. I've seen that it's _real._ And I know, that if you and I are going to stay together, we're both going to have to be at full strength." John paused long enough to smile ruefully. "Am I scared? Hell yes. I'm not even sure exactly what all of this means, I just know that it's happening, and nothing I do is going to stop it. So if becoming what you are will enable me to be at my strongest when all of this comes crashing down, than so be it."

Ruby dropped her gaze and smiled softly at his response. Her heart was fluttering within her chest. Causing her stomach to do a little flipping of its own. John reached out his other hand and cupped the side of her face gently. Bringing her gaze back up to his.

"And if becoming what you are," He whispered hoarsely, "Will allow me to keep you at my side permanently, then so be it."

Ruby felt her smile widen before going serious again, as she leaned forward and brought her lips to his. A small dart of fear making her way through her soul before she pushed it away. There wasn't a place for it now. She had to focus on John, and help him get though this. She had to forget about his impending Flip and possible demise, and be just what they were. Lovers who had finally made their way back home to each other's arms.

John's arm came firmly around Ruby's waist as his senses seemed to expand with his arousal. He drank her in, filling his lungs with her scent. He never wanted to let her go.

Ruby allowed John to take her down to the mattress, his weight leaning in on her carefully as his kiss deepened. Her fears of whether or not he could make the Change fled as she felt the flames of desire starting to lick over her flesh. She discovered very quick that this wasn't going to be a slow night of passion. Her passion was starting to flair out of control, and John's wolven instincts were starting to take over. Which was exactly what she wanted. She wanted him as far removed of what he believed himself to be like in order to allow himself to fully open up to the wolf within. She wanted him raw, untamed. Wild.

In a sudden show of aggression, Ruby deftly flipped him over, legs straddling his hips, her body rocking firmly into him, as her hands coming up with lengthened nails to shred the fabric of his shirt off his chest. Gently biting at his neck as she did so.

It worked. John put aside all pretenses of taking this slow. He didn't bother suppressing the growl that rose up in his throat, as he took Ruby's body back underneath him again. Deftly grapping her hands and pinning them to the mattress. His kiss a brand of possession as his tongue slipped through her lips to savor the taste of her heated mouth. The firelight casting shadows across their forms.

Ruby groaned under the onslaught. Her legs wrapped firmly around his waist, bringing his body closer to her core, as she strained against his hold on her wrists. Wanting him to release her. John's answer to release one of her hands long enough to rip her shirt down the middle. His hand firmly seeking one of her breasts and kneading it with the purpose of inflaming her further. His eyes glittered gold fire at her as he slowly lowered his mouth and replaced his fingers with his lips. Ruby's cry split the air as she arched against his firm hold on her. This time, with the sounds of her cries echoing in his ears, he released her. Allowing her to reach down and begin to unbutton his jeans.

****** 

Sophia moaned softly as she started to stir. The interior of her room was completely dark, except for the moonbeams shining through her curtains.

She closed her eyes again, and felt a small smile of contentment spread across her lips. The pillow in which she was laying her head on wasn't the soft and fluffy variety, but that of a very warm, very firm, warm expanse of skin. She could hear the slow rhythm of Luke's heartbeat beneath her hair, and the slight rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

She was nestled firmly into his side. One thigh comfortably slipped through his legs – and she didn't even want to think about what her knee was currently rubbing against – and his arms were wrapped securely around her waist. Their heat penetrating her even through her clothes.

Despite his stillness, she knew he was awake. 

Luke's hand suddenly massaging slowly around her hip proved her right.

"Mmm, hey…" She said groggily. Yawning as she did so. She forced herself to turn her head so she could look at him. His eyes glittered down at her as he looked back.

"Did you get a good nap in?" he asked. His voice echoing around her room with its strangeness for being there in the first place.

Sophia chuckled. "How late is it?"

"Past midnight."

Sophia brow raised at that. "And you're still here?"

"Where did you think I'd go?"

"I don't know. Wherever it is you go at this time of night?" Sophia stretched as she slowly pulled away from Luke. Sitting up on the bed as she did so. Luke watched her sensuous movement, eyes flickering gold for a moment before receding back to normal. But not in time for Sophia to have not seen it. Strangely though, it wasn't disconcerting for her anymore. She actually found it rather…intoxicating.

She did find it rather disconcerting though, when she discovered he was still naked.

Luke watched the tint of her blush swell up her neck and cheeks, and a knowing smile began to spread across his mouth, which made Sophia blush even harder.

"Did my dad come home?" Sophia asked. Trying her best to ignore the fact that he wore no clothes. If he was just going to sit there, playing all cool and superior, then she'd be damned before she'd admit to being rather…flustered about the state of his undress.

"No. He called a few hours ago. Leaving a message saying he wouldn't be home till very late tonight, and to not wait up for him."

Sophia picked up on the 'message' part. "Did you talk to him?" Inwardly she groaned. Her father wouldn't be too happy with Luke staying over with her. And if he had happened to come in while she was still asleep, with Luke there…as he was…

Sophia didn't even want to think about the WW3 _that_ would have started.

Luke shook his head. Grinning back at her. "Soph, Soph, Soph… you seem to forget that I don't have to be near a phone, to hear a message being left on a machine. Or you, for that matter."

Sophia glared back at him, trying to be angry at him for poking fun at her, but it didn't last long when his hand suddenly shot forward and slipped it around the back of her neck. Quickly bringing her mouth down to his.

Sophia's previous thoughts fled as she was swept up in the sensation and taste of him. His kiss was deep, gentle, but possessive. _Inflaming._

Luke was the one to pull away. Stroking back a strand of her hair that had fallen into her face.

"I hate it when you do that." Sophia protested teasingly. Still tasting him on her lips.

"Good. Then I plan on doing it more often." 

Sophia's eyes widened at his statement. Grabbing a pillow, she swatted him with it. Laughing, he caught it and threw it over in some far corner of her room, while at the same time, he wrapped his other arm around her waist, and took her down to mattress. Wrestling with her playfully, if a bit erotically.

Sophia panted softly Luke braced his hands on the bed as he leaned over her. His own smile fading as he watched her. Sophia felt a flicker of uncertainty as she remembered that he didn't have any clothes on. The feel of her palms pressed up against his bare sides was reminder enough. The full expanse of his well-muscled chest glimmered palely in the moonlight. He had already taken her heart, but he could still take her breath away with how beautiful he really was.

Sophia knew that he wanted to lean down and kiss her again. That he wanted to coax responses from her body that would have them wrestling on the bed for…_other_ means.

But something stopped him.

"Weren't you planning on watching that meteor shower that was supposed to be going on right about now?"

Sophia was surprised by his question, but then was glad he had mentioned it, because she had completely forgotten. 

"Umm, yeah." Sophia looked over at her alarm clock beside her bed. Luke still positioned over her. "It should be starting in about 30 minutes.

"So…" Luke smiled suggestively down at her. "Don't you want to go see it?"

****** 

The firelight's flickering shadows danced across the two entwined bodies of the lovers. John's tan skin melded with Ruby's paleness. Her arms were wrapped around him tightly as she whispered her desire in his ear.

John rolled her underneath him. Their bodies joined, as Ruby lifted her thighs up around his waist. Bringing him in closer as they both moved to a rhythm in each others arms that they had once thought they would never find again.

John felt something awaken within him. Something start to flare out of control. Ruby felt it as well.

"I love you…" She whispered. Her calming eyes meeting his flaring gold ones. They were just getting brighter and brighter, as their joined rhythm began to intensify.

"Ruby…" John's voiced her name almost as a prayer. He could feel her body start to climax around his, as she began to spin out of control. Her arms tightening further around his back, nails dragging slowly over the skin. Holding him ever closer, in the hopes that doing so would keep him safely at her side. Her eyes stared up at him, a brilliant shade of gold. As she rocked her body into his, urging him into the Flip, and her own body into its release.

John knew that it was time. He could feel his own release building within him. And riding on the edges of it, was an intense aching pressure that was becoming increasingly painful. His skin felt like it had been pressurized, and he would explode at any minute. He could feel the bones shifting in his back, could hear them begin to crack and pop. The change was coming fast now. Brought on by the pleasure of his release.

John let out a cry as that release came over him. The momentary pleasure shadowed by the intense agony of the Flip. 

"Let it happen, John." Ruby cautioned firmly, letting him fall off of her body at to the side. She came up and leaned over him quickly. His body was changing fast. Taut skin was being replaced with fur the color of midnight. His limbs were cracking, popping. Reforming to allow the wolf within him access to this form.

Ruby reached up and placed her hand on his check as she leaned down to kiss the mouth that was quickly changing into a muzzle and fangs. Tears glittered on her lashes as she saw the agony written on his face.

John felt the wolf within him start to slow. Felt the Flip start to halt in the middle of the Change. He gathered every speck of determination and stubbornness that he possessed, as he pressed the wolf to continue. 

Even so, it wasn't enough.

"No!" Ruby protested, sensing that the Flip was halting halfway through. "No, John! Don't leave me!"  Ruby didn't think as she did it, but she quickly brought her hand up to his forehead, creating a mental link between them. She slipped deftly into his mind. A mind that was surrounded in the think layer of pain, fear, and exhaustion. She felt a surge of power come up from within her, power that only a white female could possess, as she joined her strength with his. _Willing _him to complete the change.

"I can't lose you." She whispered determinedly, as she locked her gaze with his. The strength of her will refueling his own.

John felt her in his mind. Felt her drive away the pain and exhaustion, and he rallied himself up once again. He had just found her, and it was going to take a hell of a lot more than something like this to take him away from her again.

Ruby felt him join his mind with hers. Felt him lock onto her strength, as she fueled every last little bit she had into his mind.

Another one of John's cry split the air in the cabin, but this time, it slowly shifted into that of a howl of release, as he felt the pain of his body suddenly give way to that of the wolf. Felt his body, fueled so by their conjoined strength, speed through the remainder of the transformation. 

Ruby gasped as she brought her hand away from his forehead. Barely able to support herself as she collapsed down beside the black wolf laying there, panting hard, at her side. She looked over at him, and reached out her hand tiredly to let it drop onto his fur. Feeling the thickness of its beauty beneath her fingertips. Burnt gold eyes looked back at her tiredly, as his body slowly shifted back into that of a human.

Ruby smiled softly at him before they both succumbed to the exhaustion. Finally finding good, solid sleep for the first time since they could remember. 

It was done. John had made the transformation. He had survived where no other ever had. 

But whether or not they would survive the next couple of weeks had yet to be seen. But one thing was certain. They were together, and for now, that was all that mattered.

****** 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Sophia asked Luke as they both gazed up at the meteor shower. She had never seen anything like this before. It was constant. Dozens of shooting stars raced across the night sky all at once. You couldn't turn your head fast enough to track them all, there were so many.

They were out in a little clearing that Luke had known about, and had figured would have the best view point. It was situated up on a hill, and allowed visual access in any direction.

Luke nodded his agreement as he leaned back on the old and torn comfort that Sophia had thought to bring along. His eyes trailed to her face as he watched the rapt attention there as her eyes tried to track all of the different paths of light. Some just flared a brilliant white, but others that were closer in the atmosphere when they burned out would flare blue, green, and sometimes gold and orange. There momentary small fractures of light cast all over their forms. Partially hidden in the shadows of the trees at their backs.

Sophia looked over at Luke. A child-like smile of pleasure glowing across her face. Luke smiled back at her, before his eyes followed the path of a bright green one who's afterimage burned hot in the sky for a good solid minute after it had burned out.

The night sky was magical. The land around them had been transformed into a land of myth and beauty. Tendrils of mist drifted in and around the trees and clearing. Moisture particles clung to the grass and leaves and created a shimmering of crystal impression around them as the light of the shooting stars lit up the sky with their dazzling display.

Sophia turned back to watch the display. Knowing that not a more perfect night had ever existed.

Luke studied her silhouette lit up from the natural fireworks. His mind thoughtful as he sensed her awareness of him expand.

Sophia swallowed as she looked back at him. Her heart starting to flutter in her chest. Not a more perfect night…

Luke saw the desire in her eyes as he slowly leaned back up. His mouth coming just a few inches from hers. No other part of his body touching her as he locked his gaze with hers. Wanting he to realize that it was going to be her that would make the first move. The _she _would be the one to initiate.

Sophia felt all thoughts or doubts flee from her mind as gazed back into his eyes. Barely able to hide the tinge of the gold starting to spark within. The soft sounds of the burning stars pinging off above them. Their light casting flickers around them.

Sophia brought her mouth to his. A slow, innocent kiss that quickly turned into a heavy, passionate one.

Luke slipped his tongue gently into her mouth. Tasting her essence. Sophia pressed in closer to him as her arms went around his bare back. Only the clothes covering her separating them.

She felt Luke firmly grasp her hips and pull her up onto his lap. Straddling his thighs as she pressed in closer. Her torso rubbing up against his.

Luke broke off the kiss to trail his mouth down the curve of her neck. Gently nipping and then licking to take away the sting. Sophia's head fell back as she gazed up at the stars shooting overhead. Feeling Luke's mouth trail lower and lower, as he unbuttoned her shirt, and reached around to release the clasp on her bra. All the while never lifting his mouth from tasting her flesh.

Sophia sunk her fingers deep into the hair at his nape, as his lips came in contact with her breast. Luke growled his approval at the innocent gesture as he carefully devoted his time to inflaming her further.

And by Sophia's responses, he knew he was doing a fairly good job.

Sophia felt herself start to flare out of control. Stars of passion within her starting to fire off. It was like she could feel them dancing across her skin and in her veins. Causing her body to clench tightly with desire and passion. She wanted him like this. Just like this. Out here in the forest, with the night sky above them in all of its dazzling display, the night air surrounding her cloak around them, and the intense passion their species was known for, flaring out of control between them.

Sophia pressed closer to him. Her bare skin rubbing up against the flesh on his chest. Luke wrapped one arm around her waist and hoisted her up against him. Using his other arm to quickly remove the jeans her legs were still encased within. Sophia gasped at the sudden movement of this. At the feel of the cool night air brushing over her thighs. But nothing was cooling that inner fire.

Luke took her down on the comfort. His body coming over hers as she wrapped her arms securely around his neck. Fingers clenching in the skin on his back. His eyes glittered bright gold fire at her as his mouth came down on hers passionately, sweeping within to claim every part of her.

He reached down to grasp her bare thigh and brought it high up around his waist. Feeling her body come flush up against his. 

His other hand wrapped itself firmly into the wealth of her hair. Wrapping it around his wrist. He pulled long enough to look down at her. Seeing how her own eyes glittered back at him. The shooting stars' light flickering across her face.

Sophia looked back up at him. Her body on fire. Begging for release. She could feel the heat of him pressing in on her down there. Knew that he was holding on till her body was ready for him.

"I don't want to hurt you…" Luke started to say, but Sophia shook her head at him, craning her head up to gently flick her tongue over the seam of his mouth. The blatant act showing just how much her inner wolf was raging within her body. 

"I trust you." She whispered, reaching down to taste the flesh of his shoulder where it met up with his neck. Pushing herself closer up against him.

Luke let out a heavy growl as he quickly entered her, and past the barrier of her innocence.

Sophia felt the brief moment of pain as he tore through her, but she also felt how her body turned to liquid heat around him. How she burned for release at the feel of his weight pressing in on her, and she allowed her teeth to test the flesh on his shoulder. Scraping the skin erotically. She felt the wolf within her rise to the surface as he begin to move swiftly from within her. His mouth coming down upon hers once again, as she wrapped her thighs more firmly around his waist. A small cry of passion escaping her mouth as she felt herself begin to fragment. She felt like a shooting star had gone off from within her, inviting her along for the ride. On the edge of her climax, she felt the intensity of the pleasure hit her, as her body started to shift.

Luke let out his own hoarse cry as the feeling of her body tightening around him sent over the edge as well. The pleasure increased as his own body started to shift into that of the wolf.

Sophia and Luke lay there, limbs still entwined despite the fact that they were both in wolf form, shooting stars dancing around them in the night sky as they both reluctantly shifted back into their human skin.

Luke pulled Sophia into his arms as she curled up beside him, her body seeking his warmth. Nestling her face against his chest as she watched the stars above them continue their journey. Burning across the midnight expanse.

They rest like that for a few minutes, before Luke again grasped her hips, and rolled her up on top of him. Smiling at her as he did so. Sophia's hair fanned out and created a curtain as she slowly slipped her core back down over him, and they started all over again.

****** 

Vivian Cates sighed as she stood up from her chair, walking resignedly over to a window over looking the forest below.

"Do you have any idea how much time we have before they attack?" She asked quietly . Her question spoken through the heavy silence, directed at Sherman. For the last couple of hours, he had explained to her about the Hunters and the Society, and what history already had to say about these groups.

Sherman looked up at her from where he had been sitting. "I don't know, V. a day…a month. I can't answer that."

"And you won't tell me why it is that you know all about this?" Vivian's question was wrapped within a layer of frustration. She was furious at him for not telling her how he knew about this. How did she know she could believe him?

"Not now, I can't. Lives depend on it, Vivian. I will as soon as the time is revealed to me to do so. I swear. I swear to you that this threat _is _real, and it will be the greatest that this Pack has had to face before. The Darkness is already starting to close in."

Vivian nodded slowly with a heavy heart. She turned back around to look at Sherman Blackstone. A sad smile flitted across her lips. "We knew this day would come. When we would no longer be able to hide what we are from the rest of the world. We knew that one day…they would find us." Vivian looked down at the floor boards before starting to walk back to stand in front of Sherman. Her eyes met his calmly if sadly. "We will have to fight them." She stated. "People are going to die, on both sides. But we're not going to go down without a fight."

Sherman nodded his approval. Watching the Alpha female across from him closely.

Vivian ran a hand through her hair. "I will call a Pack meeting tomorrow. It will be a meeting of the Old Ways."

Sherman's eyes narrowed as he thought that over. "Such a meeting has not been called for decades."

"All the more reason to do so now. This is going to involve ALL the members of the Pack. They _have _to know."

Sherman nodded his consent. Exhaling as he did so. He watched Vivian pace back over to her chair, and whispering under his breath, though he knew she could hear him. "And so it begins…"

***************************************************** 

To Be Continued in Chapter Seven, Ep. 15 – "Trial by Moon"    Coming Soon! Don't forget to review!

Also, for those that are interested, I've written a fic based on Tuck Everlasting… I never read the book, but I fell in love with the movie, but I just had to conclude where it left off, because…well, the ending just wasn't enough. So, if you guys are interested, go check it out. It's entitled "Wildflowers." I already have it completed, but it might be awhile before you see the story posted, because I've got to recommend the category to ff.net , as it'll be the first fanfic posted on the movie. But hopefully it won't take too long! (grin) I'm definitely curious to see what kind of response it gets! It turned out pretty good I think, if I do say so myself!

(Sapphira)


	7. Ep 15, Trial By Moon

Chapter Seven, Ep. 15 – "Trial By Moon"

Author's Note – Hey there! I hope everyone is still enjoying this story, and the way I'm taking everything! 

I'm sorry, but it seemed like it took me a little bit longer to get this chapter out than the others before it. That's because this chapter really took a lot out of me. I had to get it just right, or the whole story would flop.  I had to break for a week, and work on my EFC story, before I could come back to this one, just so my muse would have a chance to refuel and gear up... I figured that quality was the most important thing right now with this chapter, than 'quantity'…. So, I hope I've gotten this chapter right, and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on it! I've finally figured out where it's all going, and there will be three more chapters after this one. The third being the finale…

Also, for those interested, I posted a somewhat short fic based on the movie, "Tuck Everlasting" (but it's in the book category) It picks up where the movie left off… it's entitled "Wildflowers." Check it out if you're interested!

Anyway, rating is higher in this chapter, due to some… well… you figure it out! (grin)

Summery – All members of the Pack will be called together in a Meeting of the Old Ways, as the Threat reveals itself to Wolf Lake… And in the process, reveals the destinies of the people within it…

Chapter Seven, Ep. 15 – "Trial By Moon"

(Dawn is starting to break.)

When John awoke, his mind felt like it had been wrapped in cotton, and he had to fight his way back to the surface. He wasn't aware of his surroundings, or _where_ he was anymore… The only thing he was aware of, though, was the feeling of the familiar warm body curved and pressed into his side. Her smell filled his senses, and the taste of her still lingered on his tongue.

Oh yeah, he knew that body anywhere.

"How did you sleep?" The soft feminine voice belonging to that exquisite creature spoke up from somewhere nestled in the curve of his neck. Ruby had woken up shortly before he had, but had been too exhausted to do more than just inhale his welcoming scent, and listen to the steady sound of his heartbeat. Reassuring her that they really _had _survived last night.

John swallowed reflexively and winced as he tried to shift his weight upon the bed. Every muscle in his body screeched at him in protest. Cramping and twisting in retaliation at the forced movements.

Ruby heard his groan and looked up. A small smile of sympathy flittering across her lips. Her silver eyes glittering sleepily at him. "I know. You've got to be sore after your Flip. Don't worry though. Our healing abilities being what they are, you should feel fine in about thirty minutes or so."

John forced himself to relax when it became apparent that he wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon. He let his head fall back onto the pillow and he let out a breath. His arm still wrapped firmly around Ruby's bare shoulders. She snuggled back into his side, and laid her head on his chest. Her warm fingertips tracing intriguing patterns across his skin.

John closed his eyes and relaxed. Knowing that, if only for a short time, they were perfectly safe where they were. His newly strengthened senses were expanding with every passing second. He could hear every car, every deer – even every squirrel if he so choose – for a mile radius. There was definitely something to say for Wolven hearing.

He was surprised at how calm and accepting he was of the while situation. Last night, he'd almost died from becoming a creature that he had never believed existed, and he had expected to be panicking right about now. But he wasn't. It was odd, but he wasn't feeling the emotions he had been thinking he would, the morning after. 

If anything, if felt as if… as if he had finally come home. As if he had finally found… himself. A real part of him that he had always sensed existed, but had never really…_believed _in_. _

And the feeling was liberating as well as pressured. Because he knew, or at least, _thought _he knew, what he was going to have to go through in order to keep this new _him,_ and the wild, exquisite woman at his side.

Little did John know, but not even his past experiences in Wolf Lake would be able to prepare him for what was ahead.

******* 

Sophia woke up to the vision of Luke leaning over her. His face silhouetted by the surrounding trees. His breath misted gently in the crisp morning air. His eyes intense yet gentle as he met her gaze. His fingertips gently tracing her collarbone. Soothing her into the waking world with the touch.

Sophia smiled up at him. Her hand reaching out to brush away a small bit of green fern from his hair. She kept her hand there against his skin, cradling the side of his face as she studied him. Secretly relieved that he was still with her. That he hadn't left before she had awakened.

Memories of last night came flooding back, and she allowed them to wash over her. Reminding her of the star-kissed passion they had shared. Memories of their bodies entwined around each other. Making love all through the night, before finally dosing off shortly before dawn. Their bodies still  connected.

Sophia had expected to feel nervousness… insecurity… uncertainty… the morning after. She was surprised that she didn't. All she did feel was… at ease. Safe. Secure.

Loved.

Luke smiled down at her, as if reading her thoughts. He probably was for all she knew, but she didn't mind. If trusting Luke completely, with both body and soul, was a bad idea, then she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. But you couldn't truthfully love someone if you didn't let them in, and if letting them in meant that you might get hurt, then Sophia knew she had to take that chance. Because she couldn't remember a time in her life where she had felt more complete.

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "6 Underground", by the artist, **Sneaker Pimps,** on the album "Becoming X" or the Soundtrack "The Saint"

This song is really sensual and very, very sexy! When I decided to use it in this series, I knew it had to be a song for Luke and Sophia as they… hmmm… Is that giving too much away for this next scene? (wink))

"Good morning." Luke whispered softly. His body still covering her. Keeping her warm. His words misted in the chilled morning air, and Sophia was surprised that she wasn't freezing right now. Or that _he _wasn't freezing. Chalk it up to another interesting facet of being Skinwalker.

"Morning," Sophia replied. Stretching sensually under Luke. Bare skin the texture of silk brushing up against him, and Luke felt his blood start to heat again. He didn't think he would ever get enough of her.

Sophia saw the flash of desire flicker in his eyes, and her smile widened wickedly. Oh yes, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Luke saw the teasing lift to her mouth, and against his better judgment, his mouth came down over hers. His tongue slipping expertly into the rich, moist cavern of her mouth. Her taste alone was enough to make his body harden with desire. Not to mention the feel of her bare skin sliding and moving underneath him. The feel of her body arching upwards in an attempt to move closer to him.

Luke's hand reached down and stroked her body to life. Starting with her small, perfect breasts, before feathering down over her sides to knead the flesh across her hip. 

In response, Sophia's suddenly sharpened nails ran insistently down over his spine, and back up. Clenching at the nape of his neck. Her body starting to tighten with the need to feel him within her. Using her teeth to surround the ridge of his collarbone, she bit down teasingly. Her mouth trailing lower over his chest lick down the center line, and over to his nipple, as Luke curved his back, hunching into her as his other hand threaded its way through her hair. Loving the sensation of her mouth working upon his flesh. Her contact innocent as well as erotic. It was a heady combination.

The hand currently fastened at her waist, ran down and grasped the underside of her bare thigh. Lifting it high, and bringing his body up flush against her core. The feeling of his erection pulsing against her aroused flesh.

Sophia gasped at the contact, her mouth leaving his chest to meet with his. Dueling her tongue with his with a sense of domination. To see just who was really in control of this situation. She heard the rumble of the growls emitting from his throat, and it excited her even further. 

Sophia's eyes opened even as they continued to kiss, and her passion filled gaze locked with his. Both pairs of eyes glowing brilliant yellow at each other. Never breaking the kiss, Luke deftly maneuvered the leg he was holding, to rest with the crook of her knee over his shoulder. Once there, she felt his hand release her leg, and it fisted onto the ground at her head. Supporting most of his weight up and off of her.

With their gazes still locked together, Luke swiftly pushed into her heated liquid velvet core. The angle of her leg making the penetration deep and uncompromising. Sophia's mouth left Luke's to let out a heated cry at the sensation of his arousal, heated like silken fire, filling her. Stretching her. Going so deep within her, it felt as if he touched her very soul.

A part of Luke recognized that she might still be too innocent – her body unprepared – for this brand of lovemaking. But he couldn't deny himself the pleasure of being the one to teach it to her.

His thrusts were slow, coaxing, as he felt her body adapting to the depth of his penetration,  her small cries of passion fueling his desire. Making his body swell within her even more.

Sophia would never be able to get over the sensation of him buried so deep within her. Her response to him was primal, wolven… almost feral. Her nails clawed at his back. Uncaring of the scratches being left behind. Marking him as assuredly as he was marking her.

The fire-like sensations from him thrusting into her small core were stoking her passion out of control. She could feel her body starting to fragment as his slow thrusts started to speed up. Stretching her further. Pushing deeper.

Sophia brought her other leg up and around his waist bringing him in closer. The other still firmly hooked over his shoulder. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as she clung to him, her body starting to shudder with pleasure as she neared the brink of her climax.

Luke felt her body's closeness to completion, and with a final, deep as he could go thrust, he grinded his body into hers, sending them both over the edge into ecstasy…

******  

Sophia didn't know how long they had remained in those woods. Slowing down after the wild pace of their lovemaking marathon. But they finally had to acknowledge that, despite how much they would have preferred it to be otherwise, they couldn't remain out here forever.

The amazing night that they had shared had not been wasted. The midnight sky streaked with shooting stars falling all around them as Luke's body buried itself within hers was a memory that she would never forget.

They had dressed slowly. Helping each other with the buttons and zippers (what was left of them, anyway) on their clothes. Not because the other really needed the help, but because Luke had made a point of trying to arouse her body even further by brushing the fingertips of those oh-so-talented hands over the swell of her breasts and the curve of her femininity as he did so. She returned the favor by rubbing her knee up against his crotch as her nails scraped down the centerline of his chest. A sensation that she knew he enjoyed. 

They were making fairly good progress, refraining from taking the clothes right back off of each other, until Luke came up with an intriguing way of bringing Sophia into another climax, by simply pressing her back against one of the trees, spreading her thighs still tightly encased in her jeans, and grinding his body up against hers. Simply rocking her into another whirlwind of erotic sensations that did just as much for him as it did to her. The feel of her heated hand slipping down into his jeans to grasp at him and knead until he himself found release, still filled his mind with stunned but pleased surprise. She _was _a contradiction. And she never ceased to do the unimaginable. Showing him just how little he really knew about her.

And he really was enjoying the show-and-tell.

Sophia stayed put contentedly. Still tightly clasped in Luke's arms, his chin resting on top of her head, as she focused on bringing the rapid pace of her breathing down. Her hands clasped together, encircling his waist.

She was really feeling at peace, until a nagging worry surfaced, and hit her like a ton of bricks. Her throat formed a lump, and her heart began to pound.

Her head shot up from where it had been resting against his shoulder, and her panicked eyes locked onto Luke's confused ones.

"Oh my God," She breathed out. Her mouth dry. "We didn't use any protection."

Sophia watched the confusion melt from Luke's face, and she felt some of the tension leave his body. He laughed softly and quickly pressed a kiss over the frown forming between her brows.

"Don't worry." He soothed, his mouth still pressed up against her forehead. "You're not going to get pregnant right now. Trust me."

Sophia pressed her palms up against Luke's chest, and eased a few inches away, looking at him warily. "What do you mean?"

Luke studied her expression and sighed. "I take it that when your father told you about the birds and the bees, he neglected to inform you about the Skinwalker reproductive system."

Sophia's silence was his answer, and Luke dragged his hand through his hair. For the first time in the last six hours, he was actually rather embarrassed. 

"Okay, first off," Luke began. "You are not currently ovulating." He saw the way she started to blush at that, and answered her question before she could ask it. "You're now a Skinwalker, remember? You'll know when you're fertile, and so will every other Skinwalker out there." Luke couldn't help but grin cheekily at her blush suddenly turning beet-red. Her sense of human privacy threatened. "Sorry, babe." He ran his palms down her sides temptingly, chuckling when she swatted them away. "It's the way of the wild. _Plus…" _He looked at her meaningfully. Making sure he had her full attention. "There are only two ways a female can get pregnant even then. One is during her Flip – but that case very rarely happens due to the lack of Wolven hormones in her system, or when she is actually _in _wolf form."

"So you're saying that I couldn't even get pregnant, even if I had ovulated… So long as I remained human?"

Luke nodded at her. His arms pulling her back into his embrace. 

Sophia was still frowning at this tidbit of information. Damn! It was bad when her mate knew more about her reproductive system then she did!

"I have to be in…" Sophia trailed off, face paling, and eyes widening at _that  _revelation.

Luke grinned back at her. His smile dangerous and reminiscent of the bad-boy that Wolf Lake had him pinned for. "Yep, doll. You gotta be in the "native" way of things around here if you want to get pregnant."

Sophia dropped her head back into the crook of his shoulder. She could feel her face going pink again. She heard Luke chuckle again. The vibrations running through his body. She shook her head. 

"But that doesn't mean that the male has to be in wolf form in order to fertilize a female…" Luke pointed out wickedly. Knowing that he was mortifying her, but he could help it.

"Stop! I don't want to hear anymore!" Sophia spoke up. Holding her hands up in defeat. Luke's chuckles turned to outright laughter, and Sophia felt like punching him right there on the spot. Fortunately for Luke, he grasped her upraised hands in his and quickly pressed a kiss into the palm of one. Slowly trailing down to rasp his teeth over the pulse in her wrist. Feeling it jump under his tongue. He smiled devilishly at her. Her lips curving against her heating flesh.

"Come on," He started to tug her away from the clearing. "Let's head on back and get some breakfast."

Sophia smiled back at him teasingly, forgetting her momentary embarrassment over their… conversation. She looped her arm through his and they followed their barely discernable path back the way they had come. She looked over at him as she teasingly informed him, "I don't know about you, but I worked up an appetite."

The sound of their laughter echoed around them in the surrounding trees. Fading away, as a light gray wolf stepped out of the foliage. Her yellow eyes relying her hatred as she watched them leave. The smell of their lovemaking hanging heavy in the surrounding area. It's sensual musk causing the female wolf's eyes to narrow in disgust.

****** 

(Later that Afternoon.)

John paced quietly around the room. Hips encased once more in jeans. The cabin was confining for him, with it's simplicity and tight space. The only thing that kept him from bolting out the door was the seductive woman curled up on the bed, watching him. Torso wrapped up in his shirt and nothing else. He turned to glance at her. His eyes trailed over the slender cream colored legs and small feet. Her dark hair hanging down around the sides of her face, with the pale skin complexion that came so naturally. So much strength in such a small package, he mused quietly, before turning away. Refraining from looking out the window as much he might like to. 

The muscles layered under his bare skin, over his shoulders and back were visible to Ruby, and she could see the tension building there. It wasn't in John to just run and hide from trouble. He had always been the kind to face it head on, and she knew that this was torturing him now. Especially considering all those instincts of a Skinwalker male were coursing through his veins at the moment. Instincts to protect and dominate. Instincts to run freely…

And instincts to hunt down and kill those that would harm her or himself. Or their union.

Ruby bit her bottom lip, knowing that that same instinct would be coursing through Tyler right about now. She hated him. Oh, she hated him so much. He had found her in Seattle, and he hadn't even had the guts to get her himself. Instead, he had sent one of his goons after her.

But she had to admit, that had been a good thing. Tyler wouldn't have been so foolish to have left his own severed hand behind as a clue for John.

She had thought she had loved Tyler once. When mating instincts were running high, and there was no doubt that he was the most sensual male she had ever seen in Wolf Lake. But that was before she had found out who he really was. Before she had seen the corruption behind that sinful face. His hatred and disgust towards humans, and his enjoyment of killing them and feeling their flesh rip beneath his teeth.

And that was why she had run from him. That was why she had escaped from Wolf Lake. It hadn't been easy, and Ruby still wouldn't forget the hell she had went through getting away from here.

But once she had, she had been free. If only for a short time. Free from the restriction and the demands placed on her by the Pack.

And she had been free to love whom she chose. And she had chosen John. And he had taught her what the word 'love' meant.

But now… Now everything was screwed up. She had been forced into a marriage made in hell, and the very idea of Tyler ever touching her repulsed her to her core. She had died on the day of that farce of a wedding, and had never expected to truly live again.

And she had told Tyler from the beginning that nothing he said or did would change things. She would always love John, no matter who's bed she had to sleep in.

But now, she had John back. And she knew she would never be able to give him up. He knew the truth, and what was more… through some twist of fate, he had become what she was. He had defied literally hundreds of years worth of odds and history to be at her side, and they had made it through. They had prevailed. So far.

Now that she had him back, she could never force herself to leave him again. She knew she would rather be dead than go back to Tyler. She knew she would kill or be killed before that would ever occur. And what was more, she knew that John would never let her go. And in that assurance she felt a semblance of peace. Knowing that, whatever it was that was coming, they were going to face it together.

But they still didn't mean they weren't running out of options.

Ruby started to scoot out of the bed, limbs unfolding, when it hit her hard. The primary mental pathway connection running through the entire Pack reverberated with it. It wasn't so much words, as a single emotion. A hard-pressed order delivered by their Leader, Vivian, demanding that all the members of the Pack pay close attention, and do as she commanded, or there would be hell to pay.

As quickly as it had come, it left. Leaving both Ruby and John rather stunned.

"What the hell was that?" John asked. Looking over the Ruby in shock. Rubbing a hand over his forehead in disbelief.

Ruby's lips pressed thinly together in grimness as she swung out of the bed. Doing some pacing of her own. John watched her closely.

"That was summons for a Meeting of the Old Ways." Ruby replied. "Something that hasn't been called in over 20 years."

"What does it mean?"

Ruby ran her hand through her long hair in agitation, shifting her weight from one foot to another. "It means that Sherman has informed Vivian of the threat of the Hunters, and she is gathering all of the Pack together to reveal to them the news."

"How is this any different than other meetings called? You said that this kind hadn't been called in 20 years."

Ruby nodded. "A Meeting of the Old is something that is called when something big as happened or is going to happen. It used to be something that we did all the time. Before the concern of technology, of being discovered, and the necessity to appear as human as possible. But Vivian wants to reveal the threat to all. As she probably realizes that.. this… _battle _that's coming, will involve every male, female, and cub of the Pack. She's not exactly concerned about exposure, because, well… we've already been exposed."

"Where will it be held?" John asked quietly. Not sure of his ability to comprehend the directions sent to him through the open mind call.

"Deep in the woods. Everyone is to come there by means of their wolven pelts or by foot. No cars or bikes. Once gathered, Vivian will explain the reason for coming."

"Are we supposed to go?"

Ruby shook her head. "I don't know. Technically, we don't need to, seeing as how we probably know more about this threat then Vivian does."

John rubbed his forehead. The force of the summons still ringing in his mind. "It still doesn't mean that it's hard to ignore."

Ruby smiled palely at him as she sat back down once again. Letting out a pent up breath as she did so.

"Tradition states," she mused out loud, "That when a Meeting of the Old is called, it's like meeting on Holy Ground. They couldn't touch us even if they wanted to. It was the main requirement from the beginning, that despite whatever trespasses that had been made against the Pack or singular members, there would be no grief given to that person while at the Meeting. It was set up that way, because the information that was given at the Meetings, was usually critical enough that _everyone_ had to hear it."

"Your point?" John prompted.

Ruby groaned as she fell back on the mattress. A headache starting to form. "I don't know. If I was anyone else, I would say screw it and use the opportunity for us to get the hell out of town. There would be no one to stop us. But…"

"You're the white wolf." John finished. Smiling wryly. "Or at least, one of them."

Ruby nodded. Sitting back up as she looked over at John. Rubbing her pale face tiredly. "I guess the only thing we can do is sit back and wait for Sherman to contact us."

****** 

School was cancelled due to the Mental Order sent out by Vivian to attend the Meeting. They blamed it on a partial teacher work day that had 'accidentally' been left out of the weekly newsletter, for the benefit of the human teenagers and their parents. The few teachers who were human were slightly confused, but they were instructed to go home and work on their files there. Informed that the real reason school had been cancelled was to install a new security system.

Those who were Skinwalker though, knew better, and the teachers and students alike walked around quietly. Trying to remain calm, but the concern and fear was reflected in their eyes when they looked at one another. It was like a dark cloud hanging over the school, as the students began to file out early. The human ones happy and eager to be on their way. The Others put on an act of doing the same. Some were convincing, others were not. Most grouped together, giving each other support as they tried to figure out what was going on. Knowing that whatever it was, was a threat to their existence.

And most looked to Luke and Sophia for guidance.

They had been sitting together in Sherman's class when the Mental call traveled down the open mind-links running through the entire Pack. No specifics, just orders to attend.

Sophia had met Luke's serious gaze head on, and their fingers had clasped tightly under the table. Luke was smart enough to know that this had been coming. He knew that something big was heading this way into Wolf Lake, and he knew that Sophia was also a very big part of that. He just didn't know yet HOW big that part was going to be.

But Sophia did, and she ached to pull him aside and tell him the truth. Tell him about everything that Sherman had told her. But the look of Sherman's face when she had met his gaze from across the room and spoken clearly.

Not yet. She couldn't reveal what she knew. Not yet.

And like it or not, she had to respect that. Even if it killed her.

Luke had always been the strongest of the youth in the Pack. He had been Willard's son, and he was also Vivian's. The son of two, distinct Leaders of the Wolf Lake Pack. And his leadership as such over his generation had always been unspoken… and unchallenged.

And it was also unspoken, but nonetheless obvious, that he had taken Sophia as his mate.

Bond Mates were not very common at their age, but they did occur. And when they did occur, they were just as strong and holding as any 'marriage' ceremony performed amongst their kind. Which basically was nothing more than a ceremony confirming the existence of a Bond already made. The claim was made and received with one of its own, and the link is irreversible. And unbreakable.

For wolves, regardless of what skin they wore, mated for life.

That was what had made the 'marriage' of Ruby and Tyler so ridiculous. Anyone who was a Skinwalker could smell on John the fact that Ruby had claimed him. That she had chosen him as her mate to create a Bond with. And despite Tyler's attempts to sever it, her disappearance from the so called 'marriage union' was all the proof needed to show that no such bond had been, or ever would be, formed between Tyler and Ruby.

But despite the existence of such a magical link, it didn't mean that others still wouldn't try to sever it.

But despite some of the.. _friction_… between the mating of Luke and Sophia, and the others beliefs over Luke's choice of a Mate, and whether or not they could still consider him their leader with a half-breed at his side, they really didn't seem to care at the moment. 

Sophia had defeated her only other _main _competition when she had oh-so-casually flung Presley clear across the bathroom, and into the wall. And in doing so, had proven her strength. And that is what they needed at the moment.

As Luke and Sophia walked out of the school and down the steps, he parted from her side to try to calm some of the other bristling males down, while a small group of girls, most in their first year of high school, came over to crowd around Sophia, while she did her best to appear calm and supporting. Sarah came over and joined her, her facial expression serious as threw in her support with Sophia's.

"What's going on?" One of the younger girls asked. Voice trembling. Sophia smiled gently at her. Her name was Skyler and she had just recently turned 16, but she seemed so much more younger than that. So much more innocent. Her hair was long and the color of corn silk, while her eyes were hazel. Currently filled with concern and fear. Sophia shook her head gently. Hating the fact that she had to lie. "I really don't know. We won't know till tonight at the meeting."

Skyler blushed slightly. "I-I didn't know if the Meeting was extended to those who hadn't Flipped yet." She stammered out quietly. The other girls around her thinking similar thoughts.

Sophia nodded her head. "Regardless of whether or not you've Flipped, you're still a member of the Pack, and therefore, you must ALL be there."

Sarah suddenly put a hand on Sophia's shoulders and whispered quietly in her ear. "Incoming."

The only acknowledgment of her words was the slight tensing of Sophia's back muscles as she sensed some of Presley's gang approaching. She didn't even bother turning around.

Sophia remained focused on the younger girl in front of her. It was obvious that Skyler didn't want to be around the older girls, and she couldn't blame her. The other members of her group had already abandoned her at the first scent of approaching group.

Sophia reached a hand out and touched Skyler's shoulder. "If you need me to answer any more questions, you can call me. My number is in the directory."

Skyler nodded, relieved, and quickly walked off to join a young man, also in his first year of high school, who had been waiting for her. Sophia watched as he put his arm around her protectively and walked on down the sidewalk.

Then, and only then, did she turn around and face the girls standing behind her. She was surprised that they hadn't interrupted or had tried to terrorize Skyler. Sophia figured that it was probably because of the rather subtle warning signs she had unconsciously sent them when they had first thought about 'interrupting'.

Sophia's eyes quickly scanned over the girls. Again, mysteriously void of Presley. And also, mysteriously void of their normal smart-ass remarks. Rianna, one of the blondes and second female to Presley, spoke first. She had always been the one to give Sophia a hard time in regards to Flipping. Her snide remarks heavy with sexual innuendo had been enough to make Sophia want to swipe her face off more than once.

"Look, I know we haven't exactly made things very easy for you…" she began. Eyes darting away when she saw Sophia raise an eyebrow at that. "But… I wanted to apologize. _We _–" she looked over at the two other girls. Brittany at one side, and Diana, the girl with the short black mop of  hair. Both of which hung back slightly, eyes downcast. " – Wanted to apologize. And we were hoping that you would accept."

It suddenly clicked with Sophia what was happening. They weren't _really _sorry. They were just trying to get on her good side after seeing what she had done to Presley. It had nothing to do with feeling bad about what they had done, and _everything _to do with rank. She had out-ranked them, and she couldn't help but smile to herself when she thought about what they were going to do when they found out _exactly _what she was to the Pack, and to them. They were standing there is front of her, showing no loyalty what-so-ever towards Presley, all because they were afraid she might mess up their pretty little faces.

Something within Sophia rose to the surface. It was part aggressiveness and part protectiveness. Like she was guarding her territory and she exactly how to go about it. It was part white wolf instincts, and part newly mated female to the future Leader of the Pack, that would have every young female in the Pack and then some panting after him if they thought for one minute that he might be free for the claiming with Presley gone and Sophia the half-breed at his side.

These girls would never be her friends. She would never consider them buddies, so it really didn't matter what they thought of her. The only thing that did matter was that they acknowledged that she wasn't going to play by their rules anymore.

Sophia's eyes flickered slightly with their golden fire, as a humorless laugh exited her mouth. Her expression bordering on threatening.

"The only thing you were hoping for was that I wouldn't make a mess out of you like I almost did to Presley. So let's cut the bull and get right down to it. Don't cross me, and we'll get along just fine. _Cross me_, and you'll experience first hand what I'm capable of."

With that, Sophia turned her back and walked away, not even bothering to glance back. Sarah kept pace with her. Unable to hide the smirk flickering across her face.

"You realize that with your Flip you've completely rattled our entire generation within the Pack, right?"

Sophia shrugged. "Sometimes a change is exactly what's required. We're supposed to be a Pack, a clan… Not constantly at each other's throats about who's in charge and who's not. Who dominates who, and who can be kicked around. The whole thing is sickening."

Sarah nodded in agreement, and then studied the hard lines of Sophia's face. "You know what the Meeting is about, don't you?" She asked quietly.

Sophia just glanced at Sarah. Not replying. Sarah mulled over her assumption. "Whatever happens," she started, "I've got you back. I want you to know that."

Sophia smiled suddenly. Cracking the hardened expression. "Thanks. I think that's a favor I'll be calling in fairly soon."

Sarah smiled back in response, before breaking off to head towards her car. Sophia watched her go, before heading over to Luke. He was having what seemed to be a very heated discussion with some of the guys, but the conversation ended when she came up and placed her hand at the lower part of his back. Gently rubbing at the tension she felt there. Feeling how clenched and heated with anger his body was. She looked at him in concern. Wondering what was going on.

He turned towards her and wrapped his arm around her back. "Let's go." His command was softly spoken, gentle, but non the less an order. Sophia glanced at the other guys in confusion… Noticing that some of them were eyeing her in way that was rather repulsing. And she knew Luke was aware of it from the sudden flaring of Skinwalker male aggression barely suppressed under the surface of the façade he was putting on for her.

"What was all that about?" Sophia asked quietly while they walked over to his car.

Luke growled in frustration in response. "It's…nothing. They were just being asses, as usual."

Luke opened the passenger door for her, before going around to his side.

"What was it about, Luke?" Sophia's tone broke for no argument, and Luke reluctantly answered.

"They were challenging the authenticity of the Meeting tonight."

Sophia frowned. "What do you mean? What were they saying?"

"A bunch of different things. First off, the right for Vivian to call such a meeting when by doing so is a threat to the Pack's safety."

"What else?"

Luke looked over at her. Eyes and expression intense. "And whether or not I had the right to claim you so soon after your Flip."

Okay. Now _that_ was something she hadn't been expecting today.

"Uh, Wh-what the hell does that have to do with the Meeting tonight?"

Luke's mouth tightened. "The Meeting tonight is for the express purpose of alerting the Pack to the danger ahead. And it is also a Meeting that is…well, suffice to say, no harm can come to anyone at the Meeting. It's considered sacred. It's like a truce is called, strictly for the duration of that night, that despite whatever trespasses or sins committed by one to another member of the Pack, or to the Pack in general, that person is not to be harmed. It's one of the few Skinwalker laws that can never be broken. It would bring swift death upon anyone who tried."

"So…" Sophia prompted quietly.

"But, on the same token, it is the time in which anyone can step forward and make their case against another. State what they believe was done against the will of another." Luke's flaring eyes were visible to Sophia, even though he hadn't turned to look at her.

"That little 'discussion' you saw back there, was them letting me know that they're planning on challenging my relationship with you tonight at the Meeting."

Sophia shook her head. "But why? It's none of their damn business who I'm with."

Luke's hands gripped the steering wheel hard. "It has nothing to do with you." He stated quietly. "It's a challenge that they're directing at me, in an attempt to rattle my cage. In their sights you're still a half-breed, and not worth the effort. I either drop my claim on you, and they back off. Or I fight them and risk the possibility of losing my position within the Pack. And you." Luke had known this day was coming. Had known it from the moment she had Flipped and he had seen what she was. And it was only going to get worse when the Others discovered the little secret of what shade her pelt was.

"I'm not going anywhere." Sophia bit out in denial. She reached out a hand and laid it on Luke's thigh, turning to look out the window at the trees and houses flying by. Not really seeing them as she tried to deal with this startling revelation.

Luke's tension started to fade, and he infolded her hand with his.

"I know. But it's still a trial we're going to have to face tonight at the Meeting."

****** 

John went to open the door on the cabin when he heard Sherman knocking lightly. He had heard him coming, and it had given Ruby a chance to get a little bit more decent before he let the older man in.

"What's up?" John asked quietly as he shut the door behind him.

"Vivian has called a Meeting of the Old." Sherman stated as he looked over at Ruby.

"We know," John replied before Ruby could. "We heard it."

Sherman's gaze shot to John in surprise, and then a smile spread across his face. Finally noticing the slight but apparent differences in his appearance. _And _the lack of his shirt.

"Well! That's some of the best news I've had all day! You appear to be no worse for wear."

John just crossed his arms over his chest. His expression sullen.

Sherman's eyes widened slightly and he turned back around to face Ruby. "Okay…" he drawled out. Rubbing his cold hands together in an attempt to warm them up.

"What do we need to do, Sherman?" Ruby asked quietly. Standing up to walk over to John and loop her arms through his.

Sherman became serious. "Now that John had Flipped, and with the approaching danger, you'll need to be there tonight. _But…"_ Sherman held up a finger, "You need to wait for my signal to reveal yourselves. What we do here has to be precise. We don't need them finding out about John till after a few _other _events take place, or you two will never be safe."

Sherman looked down at his watch. "I can't stay any longer. I've got to get some things together for tonight." He started to walk towards the door, turning around once he had pulled it open. The cold air from the evening flooding into the cabin. "Be there." His order was firm and broke for no argument. With that, he turned and left. Leaving Ruby and John standing there, looking at each other. John leaned closer and pressed a kiss to Ruby's forehead. She leaned in to him and closed her eyes. Her heart fluttering in fear. 

****** 

(Later that night, as the Pack gathers for the Meeting…)

Sophia looked over at Luke as they made their way through the forest towards the chosen meeting grounds. He looked back at her, his gaze hidden under the heavy shadows clinging throughout the forest. His hand tightened reassuringly on hers as they moved closer.

Sophia studied her surroundings carefully. The sight and scent of the Pack members was everywhere. Most were in wolf form, but because of Sophia's modesty and coloring, she had chosen to remain in human form. She had given up her clothes for a dark, emerald green silk robe that Luke had brought for her. Knowing that she was probably going to need to get out of anything she wore very quickly if it came down to it tonight. Luke had also long ago shed his clothing for the easing of any transformation that might have to be made, but had remained in his human skin for her. Her fear was tangible, and it caused Luke to feel rather protective at the moment. His gaze constantly sought out the shadows. Watching cautiously the progression of the various Pack members all converging onto one spot.

Sophia felt a lump form in her throat as they stepped out into the opening. The full moon above them casting it's glow across the open valley nestled up against the hard peaks of the snow capped mountains raising high against the midnight sky. The valley in front of them was beautiful, lush and thick. But it had been made frightening for anyone who wasn't used to the sight of the hundreds of Skinwalkers melting and shifting away from the trees. Wolves darting around the half-transformed man/beasts that where everywhere. Some went back to their human skins, some remained as wolves, and some, just for the fun of it, maintained a half-in, half-out state. Most were naked, and those who hadn't Flipped _yet, _remained huddled closely together. Eyes wide as they saw so many of their kind shifting and changing in front of them. Their parents pacing around and between them. Pressing their muzzles to their stunned off-spring in reassurance. Sophia felt a momentary flicker of sadness as she watched them. How many of them would die during _their_ Change? How many of those parents that were currently revealing their wolven pelts to their children and teenagers, would be planning funerals instead of graduation parties? It was too disturbing to think about, and Sophia looked away from the various families. Eyes burning.

But for the most part, everyone was silent. They all knew that they had been called here for a reason, and an important one. They knew that whatever was on their Alpha's mind, it was something that held great concern for the Pack, so they knew well enough to be worried. 

This valley had seen countless historic nights just like this one. It vibrated with the ancient rituals and meetings conducted by their kind down through the centuries since arriving at Wolf Lake. And Sophia only prayed that it continued to see such nights as this one. For, if it did, then it meant that there was still enough of their kind to come here.

She looked up as she saw her father step out from the tree line and come to stand beside her. Dressed in blue jeans and nothing else. He didn't say anything, but his presence was soothing. His manner protective. Between her father and Luke, Sophia knew she was under the best protection she could ask for. 

Sophia couldn't explain to them why she felt so nervous, because to do so would reveal more than Sherman wanted her to at the moment. She knew instinctively that she would have to step forward at tonight's Meeting. At this…trial by moon. She would have to reveal herself as being the second white wolf predicted in the Prophecy, and she didn't know if she could handle that.

Matthew's mouth was hardened, the lines of his body aggressive. He didn't know what the hell was going on here, but he knew it wasn't something any of them were going to like. He remembered very clearly the last time such a Meeting had been called. It had been at the start of a massive civil war between the members of the Pack, and had claimed the life of their Alpha, and many innocents, both Skinwalker and human. Including Marie.

His gaze tracked the movement of Tyler and his gang as they slinked out of the bushes in wolven form. He wasn't going to let the same thing happen again.

Luke picked up the scent of his mother, and watched her melt out from the tree line, shifting back from her pale gray pelt to naked skin. Pacing over to the middle of the valley, Sherman close behind her. Holding in his hands the book that Sophia recognized from earlier. Sherman glanced over and met Sophia's worried expression. Smiling at her in reassurance, before turning back around to answer a hushed question of Vivian.

Luke's gaze drifted over all the surrounding members of the Pack. As far as he could tell, it appeared as if everyone was there. All the adults, teenagers (regardless of current Flipped or un-Flipped status) and children. Parents for the most part kept their sons and daughter close at hand. Varying from wolf or human form. The younger couples clung to each other for moral support at the edge of the tree line… Many a woman had a hand pressed to their pregnant stomachs protectively. Knowing that whatever would be said tonight would have great impact on the lives of those children that they carried.

Luke's gaze left their surroundings to look back at Sophia. Pulling her closer to his side. She snuggled up against his side and waited for whatever would come next…

****** 

Vivian let out a breath as she looked around her at the entire Wolf Lake Pack. They were at least 600 strong. From the elders, to the adults… to the future generations of the Clan. 

And they all had their eyes trained on her.

"Do you have everything?" she asked Sherman quietly. He nodded silently. His grip on the ancient text in his hand tightening.

Vivian rolled her shoulders back a little. Trying to relieve the tension there. She wished Willard was here.

Her gaze drifted over to where she saw her son standing with Sophia in his arms… Her father standing about ten feet away from them. His arms were crossed over his bare chest, and his gaze locked with hers. She felt reassured simply with his presence.

She turned back around to look at the members of the Pack. _Her_ Pack. And she couldn't stop the sudden prayer she sent up for their safety. She began to speak. Her voice strong and determined. Carrying out over the valley as the Pack listened carefully.

"I have called this Meeting with a heavy heart. The future of Wolf Lake and the Pack has been threatened, and the danger presented to us is great." Vivian waited as the sounds of disbelief and fear started to spread across the valley. A child began to cry. She held up a hand in silence, and the sounds faded away. The child soothed by its parent.

"Our ancient enemy was resurfaced again, and the very same group that nearly drove our species into extinction back in the Old World, has come back to try to finish the job. I do not know yet how they are going to attack us, or when. But they _will_ attack nonetheless. I do not know how many there will be, or what technology they will have developed, but the threat to our kind is substantial and real. I am telling you this, because this is a threat not _only _to our existence in this world, but also to the humans that have taken residence in our town. The Hunters will not stop till they have eliminated _everyone_, and destroyed our species." 

Matt couldn't hide his shock at this turn of events. It had hit him like a punch to the gut. He turned to look at Sophia and Luke, and was further surprised at their lack thereof. If anything they seemed resigned, and Matt's eyes narrowed in speculation before he turned back to look at Vivian. The entire Pack was humming with confusion and fear, and it didn't help when he saw the familiar male wolf step forward, shifting back into his human skin, as he approached Vivian, his words loud enough for all to hear.

"What do you mean that this is the same group from before?" Tyler asked harshly. Eyes flaring with restrained fury as he stopped about thirty feet from Vivian. "What proof do you have that these are the Hunters?"

Vivian sighed. "I think that would be a question better pointed towards Sherman," she beckoned in the direction of the Keeper as he stepped forward, the text in his hands open and pressed up against his chest.

"Various thing have been happening for the last few weeks that have led us to this conclusion." He stated firmly. Voice carrying. "Believe me, this threat _is _real, and I have no idea as to how it might turn out. The important thing for us to do right now is prepare ourselves for the upcoming battle."

"Prepare ourselves?!" Tyler echoed in disbelief. "If this danger is so real, then I say let's leave out tonight! Head up further into the North and get the hell out of dodge!" 

Matt suppressed the growl as he stalked over to stand a few feet away from Vivian's side. Eyes starting to glow threateningly. A murmur running through the crowd at his appearance. All acknowledging the fact that this was the man that _should_ have led them instead of Willard.

"And what about the humans in Wolf Lake, hmm Tyler? Are you going to condemn them to die at the hands of these murderers?" Matthew's voice shook with intensity as it flowed over the valley. Facing Tyler off with an aggressiveness that was shocking to see from the man who had done everything he could to distance himself from that of the Wolven.

"Better them than us!" Tyler's eyes flared bright gold as he snarled back in response.

Matt shook his head in disbelief. "And what about our children, Tyler? Those that _haven't_ made the Change yet? They can't survive a journey like that into the Wilds. You want to condemn them as well?"

Tyler started to move forward, but Vivian stepped forward. Halting his progress with a sharp mental command and a glare that could melt the snow caps on top of those mountains behind them.

"We are not going anywhere!" Her voice shook with conviction. "If we start running now, we'll never stop. _It will never stop!_ We have to make a stand here, in _our _town! Our _home!_ We can't settle anywhere else without exposure and getting more innocent people killed. All life is precious! Regardless of whether it's human _or_ Skinwalker. We would become the very monsters that they have use penned for if we leave them without any protection or warning!" She turned back towards the rest of the Pack, voice becoming more intense.

"We will not leave Wolf Lake! We will fight to protect our town, and we will fight to keep our families, our_ young,_ safe from harm!"

Shouts of agreement lifted all around them as the rest of the Pack acknowledged the truth to her words, and sided with her decision.

Tyler shook his head. Pissed off. He aimed his next question at Sherman. "What 'things' have been happening the last few weeks that have led you to believe that the Hunters have uncovered us?"

Sherman smiled wryly at him, before turning to face the surrounding Pack. "You all know about the legend of the white female wolf. You all know about the mate to the Alpha that brought what was left of your species from the Old World into the New. You all know about Ruby being the only white female born since that time. But what you don't know, is the significance surrounding her birth."

Even Vivian looked at Sherman in confusion. This hadn't been something he had discussed with her, and she had a bad feeling that he was about to reveal a bunch of stuff she didn't know.

_'Luke…' _Sophia whispered quietly through her private mental link to him. Her hand clenching against his shoulder. Her rubbed her back through the green silk of her robe soothingly.

_'It'll be okay, Sophia… It'll be okay.' _

Sophia closed her eyes tightly. Knowing what Luke himself didn't know. It wasn't going to be okay.

Sherman pulled the text away from his chest. Cradling the old blood-stained document in his hands carefully. It's authenticity apparent to the Pack as they watched him carefully. Waiting for what he was going to say next.

"I want to read you something. Something that is very important to what has happened here tonight, and what is going to happen over the next few days." He paused long enough to find the familiar passage, and he began to recite.

"In the age of the Blood Moon, when its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors, and the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor… the form of the white wolf will appear once again… But to battle the oncoming Darkness, it's soul will reside… not in the shell of One… but in that of Two…"

A heavy silence descended upon the valley as they tried to make sense of what he had just read.

"What does it mean?" Vivian asked. Eyes narrowing at this information that, up until just now, had been hidden from her.

Sherman closed his book slowly, looking over at Vivian. "Just what it states. For the first time in history, a second white wolf has been born within the same century as the other… Ruby."

"That's impossible." Vivian replied. Shock written so clearly across her face. "We would know of any other that existed."

Sherman smirked wryly. "Oh really? You don't know about this one, V. Sorry."

"Who is she?" Vivian demanded to know. Slightly irritated.

Sherman glanced away from her to scan the crowd, his eyes briefly pausing on Sophia. The message was clear. He broke off the eye contact and looked down at the ground in front him. Folding his hands in front of him. Waiting.

Sophia's heart was pounding loudly now. She looked up at Luke, his expression unreadable with the moonlight casting shadows across it. He had heard the prophecy. He now knew the truth about who she really was.

'You don't have to do this.' He pointed out through their mind link. Revealing nothing of his personal feelings.

Sophia smiled sadly at him. 'Yes I do.' 

With that, she pulled away slowly from the security and warmth of his arms, a chill racing down her back. She took a deep breath and exhaled. Trying to calm herself. As she stepped out from the shadows of the trees that had hidden her from the view of the rest of Pack, she locked her gaze with that of her father's. Watching the stunned disbelief that started to appear there as realization seeped in. Sophia's eyes burned with suppressed emotion as she saw the look in his eyes. Her own stating a simple fact.

I'm sorry.

Sophia pulled her gaze away from her father's and focused on Vivian and Sherman. Ignoring the gasps and murmurs of surprise as she revealed herself to the rest of the Pack. Her, the half-breed that everyone had her pegged for, was the prophesized second white wolf.

"Oh, my God." Vivian murmured under her breath. Watching in disbelief as Sophia came closer. Her eyes never leaving Vivian's. The girl was afraid, there was no doubt about that. But her resolve was strong. Her strength apparent, and it all started making some strange chaotic sense.

"You've got to be joking…" Tyler bit out. "The half-breed? Oh, I don't think so. I don't know what game you think you're playing Blackstone, but I'm not buying this…" he beckoned at Sophia as if she was some kind of mutant on display, and she figured that, in his eyes, that was exactly what she was. She represented everything that he hated.

Sophia's fear suddenly faded away, and was replaced with determination . Her eyes beginning to flare to life. She oh-so-casually began to undue the sash tying her robe in place around her waist. Quickly slipping out the knot. Eyes glowing brightly. Even Tyler took a step back.

She didn't know where it came from, and for once, didn't try to figure it out. She hadn't asked to be what she was, but she knew she couldn't change it. She hadn't wanted to be a part of this oncoming battle, but like it or not, she was. But the one thing she knew she would never be ashamed of again, was what she had always known about herself. Her mother had been an extraordinary human being. And she was proud to be her daughter. Half-breed or not, she would never stand for another member of this Pack that she was supposed to save, aiming such disgust at her again.

Sliding the robe down and off her shoulders, she revealed the smooth expanse of her naked skin to the moonlight. Shadows danced across her flesh. 

She didn't allow herself to feel embarrassed. She was never going to be embarrassed about who she was again.

Once the emerald green robe had slipped off of her back to pool around her bare feet cushioned on the thick layer of grass, she started to shift. Her human skin softly flowing and shifting into that of pristine white fur. Her human body collapsed as it folded in on itself. Revealing the white wolf within.

She stood there. Coat the color of moonlight. Golden eyes glittering as she surveyed those surrounding her. Her slender muzzle lifted high as she inhaled the scent that was Skinwalker.

No one dared to even breathe as they witnessed history in the making. Many eyes burned with tears at the beauty and strength of the creature before them. They had ridiculed and teased, discriminated and made fun of, the one female that could very well save their entire species.

Even Tyler didn't speak. He couldn't force himself to meet the gaze of the white female in front of him, and he turned away. For the first time in his life, feeling something akin to shame.

Padding on quiet feet, Sophia went over to her father, eyes downcast. Matt slid to the ground, his hand reaching out to cradle her muzzle and bring her eyes back up to his.

"You're beautiful, Sophia." Matt whispered softly, knowing that she could hear him. He didn't bother trying to hide the moisture in his eyes as he studied his daughter.

"You're beautiful." 

A small whimper escaped her wolven throat, as she gently licked his wrist. Leaning the side of her face into his palm.

"So now what?" Vivian asked Sherman. Her question heard by the entire Pack who were all wondering the same thing. She watched the father and daughter moment. "What's going to happen next? Ruby is gone. No one can find her, and she's become an endangerment to the rest of the Pack."

"Oh please, Vivian." A familiar voice spoke up from the tree line. Shocking everyone in the valley as they recognized the woman who stepped out of the forest, naked skin revealed, shimmering white in the moonlight from it's paleness. Black hair cascading down her back as she smiled coldly at Vivian. Red lips and Silver eyes glittering in the dark. "Do you always have to be so dramatic?"

Vivian's eyes narrowed. She saw out of the corner of her eye the sudden alertness on Tyler's part.

"So," she started, "You've finally decided to join us again. Your mate was getting… antsy." 

Ruby shook her head, smirking at Vivian. The only female who had ever dared to defy her. "That's where you're wrong, Vivian. I have been with my mate. The whole time."

"What are you talking about, Ruby?" Tyler spoke up. Eyes glittering in suppressed anger towards her. "You were never with me."

Ruby looked at him. Her expression cold. "You are not my mate!" she sneered. Her hatred for him apparent to all in the valley. "I am the one who will choose whom I mate with, and it will never be you!"

"We all know who it is you would take as your mate, Ruby." Vivian broke in. Tone silken even as her eyes started to glow with aggression. Sherman just stood by and watched everything. Making no comment. "But you're a white female, and you can't take an outsider, much less a human, as a mate. The Pack will not allow it, and I will never allow it."

Ruby just cocked her head to the side, as if listening to something they couldn't hear. She started to laugh. The sensual sound flowed over their surroundings like water. She started to shake her head.

"V, V, V. You surprise me, you really do." Ruby stepped away further from the trees as a large black wolf came melting out of the shadows where he had blended in so well. Waiting. He came to stand beside Ruby, her hand resting on his pelt, as the fur beneath her fingertips morphed back to richly tanned skin. The black wolf reverting back to his human form and revealing his identity as he slowly stood up, and encircled Ruby's waist. Leaning over her to press a kiss to her crimson colored lips. Ruby reached up to cup the side of John's jaw, before looking back at Vivian, Tyler, and the rest of the Pack. A grin spreading across her face as she chuckled. John pulled her closer up against his lean, naked body.

"I never said my chosen mate was a human." Ruby finished. Watching Sherman as he began to chuckle, the sound carrying across the valley, as the rest of the Pack looked on in shock. A breeze lifted the hair from the back of her neck, and caused the midnight strands to flutter freely in the air. Brushing up against John's chest, as his glittering gaze swept over the surrounding members of the Pack. Glowing brilliantly in determination and challenge.

**************************************************** 

To be continued soon, in Chapter Eight, Ep. 16 – "Prism of Fire" 

I hope you enjoyed! And don't forget to review!

(Sapphira)


	8. Ep 16, Prism of Fire

Chapter Eight, Ep. 16 – "Prism of Fire"

Author's Note- This series wouldn't have gone on as long as it did if it wasn't for all of you! Again, thanks for all the reviews and e-mails! I really appreciate it!

After this, there will be two more chapters, and maybe, just maybe, a third, 'shorter' epilogue chapter. 

The whole series has been leading up to these last few episodes, and I hope I can write them as well as they deserved to be written.

For fans of my E:FC story… hang in there, I'll try to do some posting there soon. No promises though. Most of my time is going to be taken up with this story. But I've got some more plot lines laid out for Howlyn and Renee, so don't worry! Their story will be completed _sometime _in the next three or four months.

Also, I wanted to mention again the short story I did on the movie, "Tuck, Everlasting", as sort of a conclusion to the film's ending (I seem to have a thing for conclusions. *rolling eyes *) so check it out if you're interested. It's actually posted in the Book category, because ff.net wouldn't list a second category for the movie by the same title. (go figure) It's entitled "Wildflowers" and I'd really like some more reviews on it! (darn it if those things aren't addicting!!) I think I did a very good job on that fic, so it's very dear to my heart!

One more thing I wanted to point out, and I probably should have done so in the last chapter. I do not consider Vivian to be a bad character. In fact, I consider her to be a very strong natured, and very protective female. It is only due to her protectiveness towards her Pack, that she doesn't want Ruby running around, because she doesn't know what Ruby's capable of. And she doesn't want her with John, simply because mating with an outside human (especially one that is a cop) is very high-risk for Wolf Lake. Which is understandable if you take a step back and realize what this species has been through… So I want everyone to take a step back and see it the way I do. Hell, if I was in her position, I would have done the same thing. She has been fighting to prevent everything that, despite her efforts, has finally come about. So cut her some slack. I believe her to be a wonderful character in the Wolf Lake saga, and I'm not going to make her into a bad character, because she really isn't. (And she IS Luke's mother…)

Okay, enough babbling, and on with the chapter! Try to keep up!!! : )

P.S. BlueAngel, I hope you're feeling better, doll! I'm glad you think the story is improving, I do my best! And yeah, Luke's mind needs to be washed out with soap! (laughing) I know I accomplished my goal if I got even you to blush! ; ) I look forward to your reviews, as always! Especially with the next few chapters…

Also, rating is up in this chapter as well… Consider yourselves warned! (wicked grin)

Chapter Eight, Ep. 16 – "Prism of Fire" 

Summery – The Pack tries to deal with the revelations of the last chapter, while one of Sophia's 'hidden' abilities as the second white wolf will be revealed…And John and Luke will fight to hold on to their prophesized mates…

(This picks up right where we left off)

Everything in the valley was silent. Still. The entire Pack was holding their breath collectively. Wondering what would happen next. How could any of this be? How could a born half-bred be a white female? And how could a human male become a Skinwalker?

Everyone turned to watch the expressions of Vivian and Tyler, and waited to see what they would do.

"What have you done now, Ruby?" Vivian breathed out slowly. One of the few times in her life where she could remember having been truly stunned by anything.

Ruby's eyes glittered dangerously as she stared back at her step-mother. John's arms were still wrapped snugly around her naked waist. His chin resting on top of her head, but nonetheless keeping his gaze locked on Tyler. His possessiveness spoke loud and clear. And it dared Tyler to do something about it.

"Why do you automatically assume it was something that _I _did, Vivian?" Ruby mused quietly.

Before Vivian could answer that, Sherman broke in. "I hate to interrupt this little family reunion, but I think some things need to be made clear. First off, Ruby didn't do anything that brought this about. That transfusion of Ruby's blood John had against his will a few days back did the trick."

"A human can't become a shapeshifter. Regardless of how much blood was given." Tyler snapped. Eyes glowing feral. He could smell Ruby's and John's intermingled mating musk and it was infuriating him. He wanted to attack his rival with every fiber of his being. 

It was only the promise of most assuredly death that kept him from doing so. No blood would be spilled tonight, but soon, he vowed. Soon.

Sherman didn't seem to be the least bit bothered by Tyler's tone. In fact, he seemed amused.

"Quite right. But John wasn't completely human to begin with. I'm surprised no one here put two plus two together. He is a descendent of an older family line of Wolf Lake. Far enough removed to not show any symptoms of wolven behavior, but not far enough removed for Ruby's blood to have not had a rather… intriguing effect."

Vivian turned towards Sherman in shock. "That can't be possible."

"Oh, I assure you, it is. You've just seen the proof yourself. John is a part of this Pack, regardless of whether or not you like it. And," Sherman beckoned over to the couple, "It's also quite obvious that Ruby has chosen him to be her real mate. Not Tyler."

"It doesn't matter." Tyler spoke up harshly. "Ruby is mine. We were married in the way of our Pack."

"Oh really?" Sherman asked. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but it doesn't appear that Ruby _has_ mated willingly with you. Have you slept in her bed? Has your seed planted itself within her body? No? Well then, by the laws of the Skinwalker. She is not rightfully your mate. Especially if she's made it clear she wants nothing to do with you, or your bed, and another male has laid claim to her. And, as you can see, she's accepted that claim."

The anger that had been building within Tyler snapped, and he let out a sudden growl. His position within the Pack had been threatened, and he started to make a lunge towards Sherman, but was cut off when Matthew suddenly appeared in front of him, grasping him by the neck, and tossing him back about 15 feet. 

Tyler landed hard, but on his feet. The bones in his back already starting to crack and pop as he prepared himself to shift. Matthew's eyes glared bright gold, and the growl that came from his throat was heard all over the valley, and was enough to send chills down the backs of most.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He hissed out. "You won't live long enough to enjoy yourself."

Tyler was smart enough to back down. Recognizing the truth in the promise of swift death burning bright in Matt's eyes. He couldn't push Matt's buttons anymore, since his… daughter had flipped, and he had returned to his wolven pelt.

Vivian hadn't even bothered to watch this entire display. Her eyes remained locked with Ruby's while the two women evaluated each other and their options.

"Be that as it may," Vivian started, "It still doesn't mean that John is a part of this Pack. He has been raised human, in another world, far from this one. How do I know I can trust him to keep this secret?"

"Well, Vivian. You don't." Ruby shot back. Eyes narrowing. "And it isn't your call to make. I have chosen John, and he will be the one that I will have sire my young. So you better just get used to it."

Sherman shook his head. Damn it of Ruby didn't need to learn a little bit of finesse. She was outright challenging Vivian and her command in front of the entire Pack. That could get you dead real quick. Even if you were a white wolf.

John sensed that Ruby was treading on very thin ice, and judging by Vivian's expression, that ice was about to break right out from underneath them. His arms released their hold on Ruby's waist, and he stepped forward. Stopping about 20 feet from Vivian.

Vivian coolly appraised his approach. He wasn't afraid, she acknowledged to herself. And she sensed the wolf within him was strong. Very strong. He would make a good addition to the Pack. But it was up to her to decide whether or not he was too big a threat to allow.

"I may have been raised elsewhere, but I have no intention of betraying you." John's words were spoken quietly, as if just for Vivian's ears. He didn't spare anyone else a glance, but kept his gaze aimed straight at the woman in front of him. "I know about the threat that is coming. Ruby and I just barely managed to escape from them a couple of nights ago. And I think that the only way we can fight this is if we all work together, and try to come up with a solution here. If we don't, it's not really going to matter who was right and who was wrong, because if we can't come up with a way to defeat these Hunters, then a lot of people are going to die. Both human and Skinwalker. So might say, I have a double interest in this. I don't want to see anyone get hurt, and I'll do what I have to, to ensure that." Ruby came up a place her hand on John's shoulder. "And no, I'm not going anywhere." John finished, glancing over at Ruby. Black eyes warming subtly.

Vivian's anger had died away with John's words, and she slowly studied the man in front of her. Yes, she thought. He'd make a great addition to their Pack. She glanced over at the scowling Tyler in after thought. Assuming he managed to make it through the next few days alive, that was.

But that would be a fight between Tyler and John. She had no right to interfere. If John wanted to keep Ruby so badly, he'd have to learn how to fight for her in the ways of the their kind.

"You do have a point, John Kanin." Vivian acknowledged. Still not ready yet to admit defeat, even though she knew she'd be seeing a lot more of John and Ruby together in Wolf Lake. They had a bond that would not be broken. The same kind of bond that was currently forming between her son and the second white wolf, Sophia. "But you can see the predicament at hand."

Ruby became exasperated. "No, we don't. As far as you're concerned, I, technically, have the last word. Last time I checked, your pelt wasn't white. And I'll take on anyone who thinks otherwise."

"She has a point." Sherman spoke up, amused at Ruby audacity. "As a white female, she, technically outranks you."

Vivian turned her heated gaze towards Sherman. Anger, once again, rising to the surface. "No one outranks the Alpha." She pointed out quietly. "Not even a white female."

"You're right. In part. If you were a male Alpha, then she wouldn't. But you're still a female. And the females of the Pack by large are dominated by the white wolf." Sherman quickly back-pedaled when he saw the flames leap within Vivian's eyes. "Of course, you _are _the Alpha, regardless of sex, so she doesn't _dominate _you…necessarily. You're still the boss. I'm just saying that, in this case, you've got to admit. You need her. We all do. And let's face it, you'd have to kill her before she'd ever let you harm John."

Vivian smiled coldly at Sherman. Jaw tightening in anger at his words. Regardless of how true they might have been. She thought she saw Matthew smile suddenly out of the corner of her eye, but she chose to ignore it.

"I'm sure that, seeing as how we now seem to have more than one white female, we wouldn't miss the first one." Vivian's threat was chiseled out of ice, but nonetheless empty. Inwardly she was…proud… of Ruby's willfulness and courage to stand up for the one she loved. It was that kind of attitude that would make her a great leader. If it came down to that.

"Then I speak for John as well." Sophia suddenly spoke up. Having already changed back from her wolf pelt. 

Everyone turned to look at her as she casually pulled her emerald silk robe back on and belted it. Slowly walking over towards John and Ruby. Her eyes swung steadily over the crowd, before landing upon Vivian. The firmness of her expression visible to everyone. 

"No one will question his right to be here. No one." 

Vivian folded her arms to look at the younger girl. Silently pleased with Luke's choice. She had the fire and spirit that had been her mother's. And the backbone and courage that was her father's.

Vivian turned back to look at John. Knowing that the two young women had outwitted her on this one. Not that she was complaining. 

"Welcome to the family." She drawled out, almost sarcastically. Before turning her back and walking over to Sophia. She stopped just 

a few inches away from her.

To the girl's credit, her stance never wavered, and she never looked down. Instead, meeting her Alpha and the mother of her mate's gaze straight on. Nether challenging, nor submitting. Just… watching.

Vivian could sense the stillness that was her son and Matt as they watched the two women that they cared for more than anyone else in the world face each other off. 

And she knew who's side they would take if it came down to it, and strangely, she didn't care. Sophia was going to need all the 

support she could get. Both of the white females were. Vivian didn't know what the future had in store for the two women, but if tonight had been any example, then the next few were going to be one hell of a ride.

Vivian suddenly smiled softly, reaching a hand up to clasp Sophia's shoulder. "You'll do just fine." She whispered quietly. So quietly, that Sophia wasn't sure if it had been spoken vocally, or through a mind link. She felt her body relax, and allowed herself to smile in response. Watching as Vivian's hand dropped away, and the older woman stepped back. Calling an end to tonight's meeting.

Had she known? Sophia wondered. Had she sensed my insecurity about being a white female? She didn't know what was the truth anymore. She just wanted to go home.

Sophia's eyes flickered over Ruby and John. Reading their thanks for her jumping in and stating that she was on their side. No one was going to question _two _white females, and they all realized that that was what Sherman had planned from the beginning. And the timing for everything had been perfect, and had kept anyone from being killed. Yet. 

Sophia smiled back at them, nodding her head slightly in acknowledgment, but she turned back around to look for Luke.

Her gaze sought out Luke's as he came towards her. Eyes welcoming. Sophia breathed a sigh of relief as his arms infolded her. She nestled her head into his shoulder, and her eyes closing gratefully as his warmth seeped into her. 

'No one questioned our relationship.' Sophia pointed out through their private mind link. Knowing that, currently, the night had a million ears.

'They were rather surprised at… other events. It still doesn't mean that it won't happen.'

Sophia opened her eyes at the truth of his words, before closing them again, as she felt his hand cup the back of her head.

****** 

"You sure know how to pop out the surprises." Vivian muttered wryly under her breath as Sherman and her made their way through the forest. Sherman chuckled

"Yes, well. I'm glad to know I haven't lost my edge."

"You realize that John is going to be in a hell of a lot more danger now than he was before. Tyler won't just let Ruby go without a fight. He fancies himself in love with her."

"He's in love with her power, and what she represents. Not her." Sherman corrected, expression darkening. "Besides, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I believe that John is more than capable of taking him on."

Vivian looked at him. "I hope you're right. Because if you're not, it'll be me that'll have to pick up the pieces."

"If I'm wrong, V." Sherman muttered. A frown shadowing his face. "Then there will be more than just the body parts of one to pick up."

****** 

Sophia and Luke were making their way through the forest. Matthew had disappeared. They figured it was to make sure that Vivian and Sherman got home safely. But it bothered Sophia nonetheless, not knowing where he was. 

"What are you thinking?" Luke asked quietly. Looking over at her in the darkness of the forest. Limbs blocking most of the light, but still unable to hide her facial expressions from his wolven senses.

Sophia shook her head. "I'm just wondering what's going to happen over the next few days. How is this all going to end, Luke?"

Luke heard the small element of fear trembling in her voice, and he pulled her closer to his side. Rubbing her back reassuringly. "I don't know, babe. But we're all going to find out together."

They traveled a little ways in silence. Listening to the other Skinwalkers' public mental pathways, and physical sounds of them moving silently through the trees. Heading home in the hopes of seeking the sleep that would not come. 

Sophia smiled to herself sadly. Many of the younger ones weren't going home though. She wondered how many couples would find solace in each other's arms tonight. She wondered how many of their kind would Flip for the first time, and prayed for those who might not make it.

That line of thought broke off, as she turned to watch the passage of one light colored wolf beside her in the tree line. And she knew without a doubt who it was.

Sophia pulled to a stop. Grasping Luke's shoulder to gain his attention. "Luke? Why don't you go on ahead for a moment?"

Luke looked over at Sophia in confusion, and then looked towards the light gray wolf. Eyes narrowing slightly as he recognized who it was.

"Are you sure?" He looked back at Sophia. Not liking the idea of leaving her in the forest like this.

Sophia nodded reassuringly. There was no trace of fear within her. She didn't need Luke to protect her from everything. 

Luke still paused before walking away. It was only the look in Sophia's eyes that broke for no argument, that made him leave.

Sophia didn't spare him a glance. She kept her eyes on the wolf in front of her, as it began to shift back into human form. She crossed her  arms casually in front of her as she observed the newly reformed girl stand up. Blond curly hair framing her strangely hued skin. Eyes still glowing from the suppressed wolf within. 

Sophia's lips twisted humorlessly, as she cocked her head to the side. "Hello, Presley." 

****** 

"I hope we did the right thing." John mentioned for the third time in the last hour. Ruby and him had already made it back to the cabin, and although they knew they were safe there for the remainder of that night, Ruby knew they were going to have to leave early in the morning, and head back to Sherman's. There was no doubt in her mind that either Tyler himself, or one of his loonies had tracked them back to the cabin. It was no longer safe.

"Sherman believes we did." She pointed out as she stood up from where she had been throwing another log on the fire. She walked over to where John was standing by the window. The curtains were drawn tightly, and the only light from within the room was from the fire. Nether one of them had bothered redressing. The firelight chased the chill from the room, and heated their skins, regardless of the fact that the cold didn't seem to bother John anymore. Ruby had told him it was a benefit of being a Skinwalker. Things like temperature didn't faze their kind.

He was still having trouble believing that this was all true. But it was hard to ignore the facts when they had been staring at you right in the face all night. 

John closed his eyes tightly as he felt Ruby's arms slip around his waist. Rubbing her slender body suggestively against his back.

"Come to bed." Ruby's soft whisper was spoken against the flesh of his shoulder, and John turned to look at her. Watching her silver eyes warm at his gaze, and her hand come up to trace his brow.

"I still can't believe I got you back."

Ruby smiled almost shyly at his whispered sentence. Her eyes starting to glimmer with suppressed emotion.

"Nether can I." She replied. Leaning in closer to him as his lips came down on hers. She didn't care what happened tomorrow. For now, they were safe. For now, no one could touch them.

For now, they were alone.

Ruby slowly pulled away, eyes heating as she saw the desire in John's face as well as body. She pulled him with her away from the heavily shielded window, and towards the bed. Her body tightening with desire as she felt the mattress hit the back of her knees. She pulled John down with her, as her back made contact with the surface of the mattress. The weight, feel, and heat from his body covering hers was an exquisite sensation. One that she would never tire from. It was the only time she had ever felt truly free. Or truly ever loved.

****** 

A thin trail of smoke wafted up from where Tyler stood. Watching the cabin. The glow from his cigarette almost invisible in darkness at present. The moon having already set, and dawn approaching in just a few more hours. His eyes glowed brightly as he barely managed to suppress the growl erupting from his throat, as he saw the silhouette of Ruby and John holding one another in front of the window. The flickering fire from within making their forms visible even through the curtain.

He watched as Ruby's shadow pulled John's away from the window and out of sight. The image of that emblazoned  in his mind, as he suddenly clenched the cigarette tightly in his fist. Seeming unaware of it's lit end burning harshly into his flesh. The sizzling sound and the smell of charred flesh didn't register, as Tyler forced himself to walk away. Eyes flaming bright gold in the darkness.

John Kanin was a dead man. One way or another.

****** 

Sophia's gaze was chilled as she waited to see what first move Presley was going to make. If she was going to try and continue what had happened a couple nights ago at the Diner, then Sophia was only too prepared to oblige her .

Presley was watching Sophia cautiously, her expression stating just how clearly she despised Sophia. Sophia couldn't help but smirk at the obvious play of emotions crossing the blonde girl's face. Enjoying the fact that she was squirming.

"What do you want now, Presley?" Sophia's question came out harder than she intended, and she let out a sigh. Turning her eyes heavenward, before returning to look at Presley.

Presley cleared her throat. "I just.." Sophia watched her grit her teeth in anger, and acknowledged that she was having a hard time spitting out whatever she had come to say.

"I just wanted to let you know that you can keep him." She finally managed to bite out. Eyes flickering with suppressed coldness. 

Sophia started to laugh. The tone of it ringing clearly through the frost covered trees around them. She shook her head, looking back at Presley in disbelief.

"I'm glad to know that I have your permission, Presley." Sophia replied, still chuckling. The tip of her tongue caught between her teeth. She took a step closer to Presley. "Tell me something, Pres. Are you saying you don't think Luke's worth fighting for?" The question sounded almost teasing, and the chill in Sophia's expression demanded an answer. She wanted a final answer to where Presley stood on this matter. She didn't want to have to watch her back any more than she had to over the next few weeks.

Presley's tilted her head back to look at Sophia. "He was never mine to begin with. You where the one he pursued. I was just that piece of ass he couldn't resist." She started to laugh dryly. "Besides, I'm not one to take up seconds."

Sophia raised her brow at Presley. Scanning the girl for the truth of her words. Finally, she nodded, and began to walk away from her.

"One other thing," Sophia spoke up quietly. Not even bothering to turn around as she slipped deeper in the woods. The emerald coloring of her robe almost black in the shadows. 

"Don't ever spy on Luke and me again."

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Michelle Branch, "Goodbye To You", on the album "The Spirit Room"  Even though this upcoming scene is short, I think that this song is really good for it. )

Presley swallowed as she watched Sophia disappear. The knowledge of just how much had changed tonight hitting her again with Sophia's statement that she had known that Presley had seen her and Luke together early that morning. And that it had been her jealousy that had reverberated in the forest at the smell of Sophia and Luke's union.

Presley looked down to the ground as she watched it suddenly rush closer to her face as her body shifted back to that of the wolf within. She stood there for a moment, before turning around and taking off deeper in the forest. Her heart aching.

She had loved Luke, even though he had never loved her. And she would have continued the challenge towards Sophia, if it hadn't been for the sake of her being a white female. Who would have ever thought that the town's half-breed would have a place in their history? That was, if there was enough of them left when it was all over to still have a history.

Whatever else Presley might be, there was one thing that would never change. She was loyal to the Pack. And if it was Sophia's destiny to be a part of whatever team that would save them, then so be it. She would support her. Even if she'd go to her grave despising her for mating with the one that she herself had wanted from the beginning. Even if her heart broke every time she saw them together. Because, now, she had no one.

She didn't know how long she had been running. She really didn't even care which way she was going. She was just running for the sake of it. It helped her block out everything that she was feeling at the moment. It helped her forget everything else but the here and now. Her paws hitting the dirt, and her puffs of breath misting in the cold night air. 

She looked up at the night sky, and acknowledged to herself that it was almost dawn, when she suddenly felt something bite hard and low in her back flank. Letting out a cry, her muzzle turned and snapped at whatever it was that had attacked her. But she never made it that far. Her wolven vision blurred and went dark as she dropped the ground. Her last sight, that of the tranquilizer dart sticking out from her leg. 

She didn't even have a chance to call out to the others before the sedative took her down into oblivion. She didn't get a chance to see the dark-skinned man dressed in black come out from the bushes. Holding the rifle that the dart had come from as he came over to look at her. The hatred for her written so clearly across his features, as he reached a hand down and grasped her harshly by the scruff of her neck, and slinging her unceremoniously over his shoulder, before stalking away. The hunter and his prize. Leaving nothing behind to show that they had ever even been there. 

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Niki Haris, "The One", on the soundtrack "Dark Angel"  I'm telling you right now, people, that if you don't have this album, you really need to get it! This song is stunning. Just stunning, and I knew that when I heard it, I had to use it as John and Ruby's love theme. It fits them right to a T. The song has this slow R&B groove to it, and I can just see John and Ruby together with this song playing. Add this to your list of CDs you want for Christmas. I'm going to lace the lyrics throughout the next scene. Sort of like a song fic.)

**Calling out to you… I dreamed of your face…Calling out to you, I'll see you, tonight… Tonight…**

Sheets from the bed wrapped themselves sinuously around their entwined bodies, as they slid across them. Ruby's arms were wrapped securely around John's back. Nails clenching at his nape, as his palm side slowly over her side, down to her hip, and down further to grasp her thigh. Tugging it outwards around his waist. Ruby complied , by bringing it higher, pulling him closer to her. 

**Even if I ran to you… your touch would be elusive…**

John brought his mouth down on hers. Her lips parting to welcome him inside. Tasting him. Drinking of him. She pulled away from those lips to arch her body into his, seeking relief from the desire clenching so hotly within her. But John was going to take his time. Inwardly knowing that this might be the last time they'd be together.

**Even if I surrender… the war would not be over…**

John felt her body writhing slowly beneath him, urging him on, he responded by slowly lowering his head into the curve of her neck, gently scraping his teeth over the tender, silken skin.

Ruby's sigh echoed in his ears, as she rocked her body into his. Wanting to feel him inside her. Wanting them to be joined. She felt his mouth trail down lower over her collar bone, and lower still to one of her breasts. Grasping the hardened dusky nipple firmly between his lips and pulling hard. 

**Even if I bled for you… my heart would go on beating…**

Her cry was hoarse, heavy, laden with the passion that these exquisite sensations were creating within her body, as she cradled his head against her chest, his mouth still working at her tender flesh. Arousing her further. Making her body burn. Her body was restless against him. Feeling his heated skin brushing against hers, feeling the weight of his own arousal between her thighs, feeling the sheets beneath her back, and the flickering shadows cast from the firelight dancing upon their skin, and reflecting in their eyes.

**If I hide my face from you… this love would feel no shame…**

John's encircled Ruby's arched back, and pulling her up with him, sat up on the mattress. Legs still folded underneath him, with her centered on his lap. The weight from her body, leaning into his. Her black mahogany colored hair fanning out over his shoulder, as she tucked her face into his shoulder. Panting slightly from her need to be joined with him. Arms looped loosely around his neck.

**…'Cause I know, there's a place for me, where you and I can dance…**

John's hands ran slowly down and her back. Kneading at the highly toned flesh. The slightly abrasive feel of his calloused palms against her smooth skin sent fine shudders down her body. Ruby's arms loosened from their hold on his neck, to grasp at his shoulders. She brought her face up at looked at him. Slowly, softly, rubbing her lips against his. The tip of her tongue gently touching his bottom lip. Tasting him. She could feel the heated moisture admitting from her core, strategically placed up against his arousal. And knew he could feel it as well.

**…And I know… there's a place for me. You will be there. Take me there…!**

John let out a groan as he felt her grind her body closer to his. His control starting to snap.

**You are the one… it's your love, pulling me back… calling me back… I'll run to you, baby…**

"John…" Ruby urged softly. Her whisper brushing up against the side of his jaw. John grasped her thigh more firmly, and his other arm, still wrapped securely around her waist, pulled her further up onto his body. Her arms tightened once more around his neck, as she held him close.

**…You are the one… it's your love, it keeps on pulling me back… calling me back… I'll run to you baby… I'll run…**

Ruby felt her body being balanced right above John's, and let out a cry, as she felt him finally slide all the way into her. One deep, solid thrust. She took him as far into her body as he could go. Feeling how hot his was. Feeling him stretching and sliding further into her. The weight from her body helping to push her down tightly onto him. Encasing him.

**We could turn and walk away…Pretend that we are dreaming… Confess that we are satisfied. Ain't all what we are seeing…**

Tears burned under Ruby's lids as her entire body trembled from their joining. Oh, how she had missed this! She didn't know how she had managed for so long, without John at her side. Loving her… so preciously… as he was right now.

**We can take a chance right now… and lean into the morning…**

John reached to pull Ruby's arms down from around his neck, and pulled them behind her back. His hands fisting tightly with hers, still pressing into the small of her back to keep her tight up against him, as he started to move from within her. Rocking upward into her core.

**We could hold each other's hands… together face the fight…**

Ruby pulled unsuccessfully at her arms, wanting him to release them, but knowing he wouldn't. She heard the slight rumblings in John's throat, as he leaned his head over her, still moving firmly from within, and latched on hard to her offered breast. The feeling of his mouth on her, and his body moving from within her, started to send fireworks off in Ruby's body. The erotic, almost dominant nature of her position inflaming her. He held her securely, tightly, arms still twisted behind her back, leaving her completely open to him. The feeling of his thrusts sending them both over the edge was almost too much to bear.

**And I know, there's a place, where everyone will dance… Yes, I know, there's a place for me. And you will be there. Please, take me there!**

John abandoned her breast to trail his mouth up to her shoulder. Glistening in the flickering light from the fire. He pressed a kiss there, his tongue tasting the salt. Ruby moaned at the loving contact, and moved with him. Urging him to move faster. Harder.

**You are the one, it's you love, pulling me back… calling me back. And I'll run to you, baby. You are the one, it your love. It keeps on just pulling me back, calling me back. It's your love…**

John pushed in deeper. Striving to touch her very soul. And to Ruby, he felt like he was doing just that. She couldn't halt the sudden tear that tracked it's way down her check. She loved him so… And the idea that this might be the last time they…

As if sensing her thoughts, John feathered a kiss over her cheek. His lips catching the tear, as he soothed her. Loved her. His thrusts urging her into the climax that she longed for, but at the same time was reluctant to experience, because then all of this would be over.

**Come on! Lean into me, baby. Breathe into me. You can lean on me. Just lean on me, baby! You know…**

Ruby felt her body start to tighten, as she tossed her head back, feeling John's lips and tongue trail over the curve of her exposed throat. Felt her pleasure starting to hit. The cries escaping from her lips were like an aphrodisiac to John. The sound echoing through to his soul, as his hoarse cry joined hers.

**…We will dance together… We will love each other…**

Ruby felt herself spiraling out of control. Felt John release her arms as he joined her. She wrapped her arms back around his shoulders, and brought her mouth crashing down on his. Feeling her body fragment and shatter. Felt the intense pleasure that she only achieved in John's arms. And she never wanted it to end. If she could hold on to this moment forever, then she would know she was truly in heaven.

**We will touch each other… We will dream together…**

John held her close as the after shocks of their lovemaking hit them both. His body slowing down the pace, but still moving within her, reluctant to stop. His hands came up to cradle the sides of face, turning it upwards to meet his gaze. Prisms of the firelight were reflected there, as her silver colored eyes looked back at him. All of her fears and concerns were reflected there, and he wished that he could remove them. Wished that he could suddenly make everything okay. But right now, that wasn't possible, and who knew what was going to happen over the next few days or weeks. He couldn't control that anymore than he could control the weather, and he realized just how powerless he was.

So he did the only thing he could. Slowly taking Ruby back down onto the mattress, he started all over again. Just…loving her.

**You are the one… it's your love… pulling me back… calling me back… and I'll run to you, baby… **

****** 

Sophia yawned as she slowly woke up. Pushing through the layers of fog so heavily coating her mind. Glancing over at the clock on her nightstand with blurry eyes, it told her that in was nine in the morning. She had only been asleep for five hours.

Looking over at the movements of the one who had woken her up, she met Luke's gaze. He was standing at the foot of her bed, buttoning up the fly on his jeans. Beautifully sculpted chest still visible.

"Did I wake you?" he asked, watching her.

Sophia nodded slowly, stifling another yawn, before pushing the heavy fall of her hair back from her face. When they had made it back to her place, they both had crashed. Barely able to make it to the bed before falling asleep. It had been a long day for both of them.

Luke smiled at her sleepy eyed expression. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Sophia murmured, getting up enough energy to push the coverlet back, and swing her legs out from underneath it. Pushing herself up into a standing position.

Luke's gaze wandered casually over her body still encased in the emerald green silk robe, as she slaughtered over to him. He reached his arm out to her, and pulled her close.

"Hey," he whispered, kissing her briefly. 

"Hey," Sophia smiled back at him, before pulling away to go downstairs and see if she could dig up some coffee, while Luke finished dressing. 

Sophia made her way into the kitchen, stopping once to look in the living room, to where her father had barely managed to sprawl out on before finding sleep himself. She tip-toed past, even though, Skinwalker senses being what they were, meant that he'd be awake fairly soon anyway.

She had just put the coffee on, when she heard a very light rap on the back door. Turning around, she looked over to see Sherman standing there.

A frown traced its way across her forehead, as she silently opened the door, and closed it behind her. Trying not to wake her father.

"What are you doing here? My father's sleeping, but if you needed to talk to him…?" Sophia studied the older man in front of her. Unlike some of the other people in this town presently, he seemed as wide awake and cheerful as always. Not the least bit sleep deprived. 

Sherman shook his head. "No, I didn't come to talk to him." Sherman reached his hand into his pocket "Actually, I came to give you something. Something that belonged to the last white female… one of your ancestors."

Sherman handed her a gray suede pouch with a pull string. Sophia took it hesitantly, feeling the buttery softness of the fabric beneath her fingers.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Why don't you open it and find out?" Sherman prodded. Waiting while she did so.

Sophia tilted the contents of the purse out onto her hand, and was rather stunned by what she saw. It was a crystal pendant. But unlike any that she'd ever seen before.

"I replaced cord it had been on with the silver chain, but the pendant was worn by the white female that saved your people."

Sophia looked back up at him in shock. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"Because I think that would be what she would have wanted."

"She?"

"Rianna. The white wolf."

Sophia studied the pendant carefully. "Is it…? Does it…?"

"Is it magical?" Sherman finished for her, chuckling. "It's only as magical as you want it to be. From what I understand, Rianna never took it off. And it was believed that it was owned by the white wolf before her, and the one before her, but it was never documented or proven. Here, let me help you put it on." Beckoning for Sophia to turn around, he took the pendant from her hand, and clasped it around her neck. The weight from the single crystal settled between Sophia's breasts, and she looked down at it. Picking it up with her fingertips to turn it every which way. Looking at the stunning natural facets.

"What is it made out of?" Sophia asked quietly. Having never seen anything like it.

Sherman shrugged his shoulders. Who knows? Some of the past Keepers thought it might have been forged out of a volcano. Others thought it might have come from a meteor, while others thought it was created by supernatural forces. That knowledge was lost a long time ago. And maybe it's better that way. The important thing is that you realize just how precious that rock is, Sophia. Don't ever take it off. For any reason."

"I can't leave it on when I Change, Sherman. It would get lost."

Sherman shook his head. "Whatever that rock is made out of, it's the only substance known that will convert with you. It will simply become a part of you, so when you Flip, it will simply… disappear. And reappear when you change back."

Sophia swallowed. Mouth dry. "I'm still not sure if I'm the right one to have this. Wouldn't Ruby be more capable to-"

Sherman cut her off. Becoming serious. "It is not part of Ruby's destiny to wear that pendant, Sophia. It's yours. It's a very important part of who you are, and your family line."

Sophia didn't argue. Knowing that she wouldn't win. "Thank you." She stated simply, before turning around to go back inside.

Sherman nodded, smiling at her, before returning to his car, and driving of.

Sophia watched him leave from the window in the kitchen, before she turned around and walked over to the mirror in the hallway. Studying the crystal.

It was only about an inch and a half in length. Not too big, but definitely eye-catching. Where it was connected at it's base was thin, only about three or four centimeters in width. It flared out in a large tear drop. Naturally Six sided faceted. But that was only part of it's beauty.

The closest thing Sophia could compare it to being, was a frozen prism of fire. The brightness of the piece made it look like it was really burning bright. The base had thin trails of blue, the color of the blue core found only in a flame, and from there is blazed a mixture of glowing yellow, bright orange, and rich-ruby colored red. Unbelievable in it's intensity. No other mineral she had ever seen could compare to it. It attracted the light like crazy, and reflected it across her skin. Causing tiny little light shows against whatever it touched.

Sophia fingered it carefully. Realizing just who had worn it, and she drew in a shuddering breath.

She heard Luke coming down from upstairs, and her father starting to wake up from the smell of coffee filling the house with it's aroma, and she quickly tucked the necklace underneath her robe, and out of sight. Imagining she could almost feel the heat from the fossilized flame glowing against her heart, as she headed back into the kitchen to get breakfast ready.

****** 

The day spent in school seemed to fly by, and pretty soon, the final bell was toning out. Sophia slammed her locker shut for the final time that day, and headed for the exit. Wondering just where Luke had disappeared to. Strange that he hadn't been waiting for her at her locker.

Sophia shook off her concern and looked around her at the various humans and Skinwalkers crowding each other, trying to get outside. She waited for them to all pass by. Studying those of the Pack as they stepped past her. They all gave her wide berth. Some looking over at her and nodding. Acknowledging her newly discovered position.  Others whispering to others on private mental pathways that they thought she couldn't hear. Strange, but it seemed that one of her gifts would be the ability to hear all various mental pathways. It would come in handy, she supposed. But it presented an awkward situation sometimes, when she was over hearing the private mental pathways between lovers and friends. 

There were some things you just really didn't want to hear.

She also picked up the various scents of some of the teenagers from the Pack, that had just Flipped last night. Brought on by the announcement made at the Meeting. Sophia smiled to herself. Skinwalkers and humans weren't that different. When faced with the possibility of death or the destruction of everything and everyone that they knew, the first thing they did was jump someone's bones. 

She guessed there were worse ways to go.

Sophia had just made it outside, when she sensed more than saw her father rushing towards her. His expression hard and his eyes filled with worry.

Sophia felt her heart sink in her chest, as dread started to fill her. Oh, God, what now?

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – Filter, "Hey Man, Nice Shot" on the album Short Bus.  I really don't care that much for Filter's music. I like the sound, but not the lyrics as most tend to be too crude. But I do like this song, and I think it fits Luke like a glove. A good kick-ass song, as most would say. And there is just something about it that is very reminiscent of that bad-boy intensity that we see in Luke. Very fitting, and very, **very **Wolf Lake.)

At that same time, Luke currently had his hands full. Both literally and figuratively. He had gone back to the men's locker room to pick up some of his stuff that he had left behind, when confronted with several of his Pack mates.

His eyes coolly observed the three Skinwalkers in front of him. Reading the challenge presented in the way they were standing. The one running the show was Alex. Luke and him hadn't exactly always gotten along, but for the most part, they had always stayed out of each other's way. Till Alex had decided that the best way to defeat Luke was to go after his claim of Sophia.

Luke took a step to the side and dropped everything that was in his hands on the floor. Eyes starting to glow as his eyes never left Alex. Knowing that _he_ was the main threat, not the other two. Alex was about the same height and build as Luke. Black hair, and black eyes. He already had one scar running down the side of his neck, where Luke had messed him up a few years ago over a disagreement.

"You've got to be kidding." Luke spat out. "Either you brought them for decorations, or you're in the need of someone to fight your battles, Alex." Luke's words struck home, and he saw the way Alex's eyes narrowed at the insult, that he couldn't handle Luke on his own. Tilting his head, he told the other two to leave, and they were only too glad to do so.

"Where's your half-breed female, Cates? Don't you need her to win your battles?"

Luke smiled coldly. "I think I can do that well enough without her this time. Of course, I would appreciate it if you would tell me just why you think you're here."

Alex laughed coldly. "I'm just sick and tired of watching you strut around the town, think you're the top wolf in the place. Just because your father was the Alpha, and now your mother. But now that it seems you've secured yourself a white female… Well, Cates. I'd say your luck is about to run out."

Luke just smiled. Rolling his shoulders a little to loosen up the muscles there. Muscles and bones already popping and twisting in his back. Preparing for the fight. "So you think you're going to finally beat me, is that it?"

Alex shook his head, lips twisting. "No, Luke. I plan to break you, and take that little bitch of yours as the prize."

With those words, Luke saw red, and something within him snapped. His union with Sophia, and his position within the Pack threatened. Alex was going to find out just why his family line had always been the top wolves in the Pack. And it wasn't because of their charm, intellect, or money.

It was, because when it came right down to it, no other line could be quite so brutal, quite so deadly, or quite so vicious as the Cates when provoked.

******

"Dad, what is going on?" Sophia asked as Matt drove out of the parking lot like a mad man. Tires squealing in protest.

"Did you notice that Sherman wasn't teaching one of his classes today?"

Sophia nodded silently. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

"One of the teenagers got stuck last night in the middle of her Flip. He's been with her all day, trying to help her, but he doesn't think she's going to make it."

Sophia frowned. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Sherman told me to come get you. He thinks you'll be able to help her pull out of it."

"What? How does he think I'll be able to do that?"

"He said he would explain it to you when you arrived. It has something to do with your ability as a white female."

"Oh, no." Sophia whispered. Face going pale as she leaned her face into her hand. She didn't know if she could do this.

'Luke! I need you! Meet me at the hospital. The Underground facility.' 

The answer from him was quick to come, but brief. Sophia sensed that he had cut himself off from her, and that made her heart start to pound in alarm. What was happening to him that he didn't want her to sense?

'I'll be there soon, baby.' 

And just as quickly as that, the connection was severed. And Sophia couldn't help but feel a cold knot starting to form down low in her stomach. What was happening in Wolf Lake? She leaned her head against the side of the window, and closed her eyes. Just trying to focus on breathing slowly.

****** 

John sighed as he stepped out onto the porch of the cabin. Sipping a cup of coffee cradled in his palms. He leaned his shoulder against one of the support columns, listening to the sounds of the birds in the forest surrounding him, as well as the sounds of Ruby taking a shower inside the cabin.

He smiled to himself, remembering the night/morning they had spent. Taking another sip of the hot brew. They had slept for a good portion of the day, and as soon as she finished with her bath, they were going to head on out, and stay over at Sherman's, till they figured out what to do next.

He took a step down off the porch, looking up at the sky to ascertain what kind of weather they were in for. The once blue sky was starting to darken subtly with cloud cover, and he figured that they would be in for a nasty storm that night. Just then, a rumble of thunder way off in the distance clarified that, and John knew that they needed to leave soon if they wanted to make it back to Sherman's before the storm hit.

The sound of a twig snapping about 20 feet behind him was the only warning he had. Dropping his coffee mug, John quickly turned and managed to brace himself as he met, head on, the tearing jaws of a highly enraged male wolf. Muzzle snarling, shining with saliva, and eyes glowing with bloodlust as he and John went tumbling to the ground from the force of the attack. The male wolf driving forward with victory reflected in his eyes, growling and hissing with intensity, his muzzle seeking purchase to bury itself deep within it's enemy's throat…

****** 

Luke stood quietly in the Locker room. Naked underneath the cold spray from the shower pouring down on him. Rinsing his body clean of the blood that had stained it. Both his and Alex's. Shallow cuts all over his skin were already in the process of sealing up and disappearing. The deeper ones across his chest, side, and shoulder still oozing blood. He stepped away from the downpour. Casually turning off the showerhead. Rivulets coursing down his flesh.

Coming out and into the hallway, he scooped up his clothing, which was now tattered and soaked with so much blood they were beyond repair. He quickly shoved them into his locker. Not even bothering to put on any more clothes. Sophia had called to him a few minutes ago, her worry and fear heavy within his heart, and he planned to get over there to the hospital and find out just what the hell was going on.

Before he left the locker room though, he stopped in front of Alex. Looking down at him coldly. Not the least bit disturbed at the mess in front of him. The locker room wasn't in that great a shape either, but that was not Luke's concern at the moment. 

He squatted down beside him. Tilting his head to the side to observe that he was still breathing. Judging by what the rest of him looked like, that was a miracle in and of itself. 

More than one bone had been broken, and his body was a mess of teeth marks, slashes, and bruises. Luke could have killed him. Knowing that it would have been well within his right to do so, by the Pack's laws. But the last thing that needed to be happening right now, was the Pack turning on each other. Killing one another. 

And he knew that if he had killed Alex, Sophia would never forgive him.

"Listen to me, and listen carefully." Luke spoke firmly. His words chiseled out of ice, as he met the pain-wracked gaze of the barely recognizable Skinwalker male in front of him.

"If you ever try to threaten me, or my position within the Pack… If I ever so much as catch you looking at Sophia in a way I don't like, I will rip you apart piece by piece till there is nothing left."

With that, Luke stood back up, turned his back, and exited the locker room through one of the back exits. Doing a quick scan of the area to make sure no one was present, before allowing the wolf to take control. Shifting back into his pelt. Once the Change was complete, he set off for the hospital at a break-neck pace. Sensing Sophia's fear, and leaving the memories of what he had just done far behind him.

He may be a Cates, and he may be the mate of a white female. And he may be the future ruler of the Pack. But it didn't mean that he had enjoyed what he had just done. But he knew that there had been no way around it. He was who he was, and sometimes, it was your fellow Skinwalker that was your greatest enemy, than any outside threat that would ever come upon you. And it required you to become something you normally wouldn't allow yourself. Something that was a true reflection of what their species were. A reflection of thousands of years ago when they ruled with the sharpness of their teeth, and the slash of their claws. When they had been revered as Gods by the humans, and as such, had lost their souls.

And Luke knew that it wouldn't take much for their species to fall back to the old ways. Maybe that was why he hadn't killed Alex. Maybe that was why his species tried to be as much like humans as possible. Because they didn't want to remember what it had been like when they had had all the power, and the human race was easily crushed beneath their rule.

And if they weren't careful with handling the threat posed at Wolf Lake, then history was going to repeat itself.

************************************************************* 

TBC Soon in Chapter Nine, Ep. 17 – "The White Wolves"


	9. Ep 17, The White Wolves

Chapter Nine, Ep. 17 – "The White Wolves" 

Author's Note – Okay, let me clarify… including this one, there will be two more eps. to go, including an epilogue chapter (so technically three more chapters) And I don't know… that last ep., the one before the epilogue, might be broke up into two different chapters (as in a really long ep., like I did with Stars of Passion) I'll just have to see how everything goes. I want to be able to get in everything that I've wanted for this story from the beginning, without this story burning out. And I have to admit; it's almost happened a couple of times. Which is why I've taken longer breaks than I normally do. But all of you have been so wonderful; it has helped keep me sane! And it has kept me typing. 

And of course I'll have a soundtrack chapter which will list all the songs I chose throughout the series, as well as their lyrics, and hints to where you can either get the songs for free, or buy them really, really cheap! 

As well as my final note to all of you in thanks for your support, as well as hints as to… **other**… Wolf Lake fics I'm already planning! That's right, people! You didn't think I'd leave you completely, did ya? (wink)

Truth is, WL has really been a lot of fun to write about, and although this series will always be my main WL fic, I have in mind two completely separate and different stories. But you'll have to read the author's note that I'll post after I finish this series to find out anything more about them! And about the other projects I'm already planning! (wink)

I also wanted to point out to you guys a new WL fic that has recently been started, It's entitled "The Moon's Calling" by Ashione. She's only put up the first chapter so far, but her writing style is amazing, and she's captured the chemistry between Luke and Sophia perfectly! Please give her new story all the support it deserves. It is really an amazing start to what I believe will be an excellent story! So if you haven't read it, please do so.

And now, on with the chapter…

Chapter Nine, Ep. 17 – "The White Wolves"

Summery – Sophia fights to save the life of a young girl caught within the throes of the Flip, while John fights to save not only his claim to Ruby, but his life as well… As the Hunters begin to infiltrate Wolf Lake, and the battle lines are drawn…

****** 

Sophia could feel her heart pounding in her ears as Matt guided her into the underground chamber of the hospital. She remembered what it had been like when she'd been here last, and it was a memory she never wanted to revisit again.

Her internal radar could sense the young girl beyond the door that they were pulling closer to. The whole world seemed to be moving in slow motion. As if none of this was real. As if none of it was happening.

But it was.

She could also sense that Luke was close by. Probably already in the hospital, making his way to her. His mind reaching out to touch hers soothingly.

But despite how much she wanted to just lose herself in his touch, she knew she couldn't. The temptation was strong to do so, because she knew then she wouldn't have to face what was lying ahead of her. She wouldn't have to face her destiny. Her birthright.

She felt the crystal pendant moving between her breasts under her shirt, and knew that there was no going back. She had already come too far.

She closed her eyes as Matt pushed open the door, and the screams of the poor girl echoed across the facility. Caught within the clutches of what Sophia knew felt like hell. As she opened her eyes, her heart sank at the sight of desperation and fear in front of her.

The young girl was hoarse from crying out in agony, her body writhing and twisting inhumanly on the bed. Restrained at the ankles and wrists. What appeared to be her boyfriend was standing at her side, his hand locked tightly within his unfeeling mate's grasp. He was standing there completely naked. The scent of the Flip thick upon his skin. It was obvious that he had made the change successfully.

But his girl hadn't been so fortunate. 

But what made Sophia's heart sink even lower, was that she recognized the girl lying there. She had just talked to her yesterday evening.

The sudden compassion within Sophia pulled her closer to Skyler's bed. She watched as the girl's eyes flickered across Sophia's form. Probably not even aware of who she was. Hopelessness radiating from her waning battle against the inner wolf. One that she wasn't winning. 

Sophia flinched as Skyler let out another ear-splitting scream. Her boyfriend looked at her in desperation. Silent tears of pain coursing down his cheeks.

"Do something for her! Please!"

Sophia saw the pain in his gaze, and her heart broke at the sight of him trying to hold on to the convulsing body of his mate. A mate who was so beyond hearing, seeing, or feeling anything at the moment but the pain.

Sophia felt a silent scream of denial claw at her throat at the cruel reality of their existence. What kind of life was this? Never knowing just how many friends, lovers, siblings, or children you would lose to the simple genetics of their species.

Sophia felt the heat of Luke's body as he came up behind her. His arms encircling her waist to being her closer to him. She hadn't even heard him enter.

Sophia closed her eyes against the tears glittering there in her lashes, and leaned the side of her face against his bare chest. Wanting nothing more than to disappear from the scene of violence and cruelty playing out in front of her. But no matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes closed, the image of the young boy; tears shimmering in their path against the sides of his face, as he clutched at Skyler. Sobbing openly at the sight of her mind and body buried within so much agony – was forever burned upon her mind.

******  

The sounds of the attacking wolf's snarls were harsh in John's ears as he fought against the slashing weight of Tyler bearing down on him. Claws raking deep furrows in John's sides. Teeth straining forward to rip into his exposed throat.

This was Tyler's idea of a decent fight? Attacking when your opponent's back was turned?

John felt an unfamiliar rage shudder through him, as his vision turned red. He felt the wolf within rising to the surface. Anger lent strength to his body already starting to shift. Somehow, he managed to get his foot underneath the body of the attacking animal, launching him about twenty feet. 

Tyler landed hard, but was already back up and charging at John with such speed that if any human had seen it, they wouldn't have believed that a wolf could move that fast.

But, if a human had seen it, they would have probably been more focused on the vision of a man shifting into the body of a large black wolf, just as fast. Quick enough to meet the attacking opponent head on with an attack of his own.

The steel gray wolf and the black one met with a flurry of fur, claws, and teeth. Snarling jaws snapping for purchase. In that moment, there was no Tyler or John. There was no human emotions or stigmas. They were two alpha males fighting for supremacy, and the right to the mate that they both wanted for themselves.

One thing was for certain... Only one of them was going to come out on top.

****** 

Presley didn't remember ever feeling this groggy, when she fought her way back up to the surface from the effects of the drugs that she had been shot with. When she finally opened her eyes, she wished she had stayed comatose.

She couldn't make out any details of her surroundings, her focus was still blurry. But one thing that she was aware of was that she was no longer in wolf form. Her human skin was completely exposed from where she was physically bound in place by thick leather cuffs around her wrists and ankles, and the weight a chain was pressing into the slight curve of her abdomen and digging harshly into her hips.

It was obvious that whoever it was that had captured her, didn't want her going anywhere anytime soon. But the way her head was starting to pound, and how weak and heavy her limbs felt, she couldn't have gotten out of there if her life had depended on it. Which, actually, she mused unemotionally, seemed to be the case here.

She saw someone moving closer to her, but was unable to make out his or her face. Presley swallowed nervously, her mouth and throat dry. She tried to open her mouth to speak, but no sound emerged. She watched as the shadowed form pulled out a syringe and before Presley could gather the strength to so much as struggle against her bounds, the needle slid home in the exposed blue vein of the underside of her arm, and she felt whatever it was being injected into her bloodstream. It burned like acid as it spread throughout her body. Dragging her back under the thick dark curtain of oblivion. And this time, she welcomed it.

****** 

"I don't know what to do." Sophia whispered quietly to Luke. Luke just shook his head. Not understanding why Sherman would have ordered Matthew to bring Sophia to this place, to be forced to watch this young woman die.

Luke could sense, as well as everyone else in this room, that Skyler had been locked within the Flip for too long. And after a certain time, there just simply wasn't any hope. 

Vivian should have already ended her misery.

Sophia was too sensitive to watch this young girl die, especially after just recently going through the Flip herself. He was tempted to escort her out of there, when Sherman came up beside them.

"Luke, I need to talk to Sophia alone." Sherman's words were very much an order, and one that wasn't going to be denied.

Sophia's hand tightened sharply on Luke's arm. Not wanting him to leave. Luke looked down at her. Wanting it to be her call.

Sophia nodded reluctantly and her hand loosened. Dropping away. She folded her arms protectively across her breasts as she watched Luke exit, and looked expectantly at Sherman.

Sherman smiled tiredly at her. His fingers coming up to rub the bridge of his nose.

"We don't have much time, Sophia. I wish that I didn't have to put this on you so soon. If I had had my way, I would have chosen another time and place. But, frankly, that isn't the case today. Skyler is in trouble, and she will die if you don't help her."

"Help her how, Sherman? I don't understand any of this!" Sophia tried to catch her breath to keep from panicking.

"There's something I haven't told you about the abilities of the white wolf. Something that I haven't ever told anyone, and as far as I know, no one else possesses this knowledge."

Sophia swallowed. Taking a deep breath to calm herself. "What knowledge?"

"Rianna had a gift, Sophia. A gift that you, as her descendant and a white wolf might possibly have. It was documented that on many an occasion she had the ability to save one caught within the Flip. She saved the lives of many during that time period. With most of their species destroyed, and only a few left, every life was precious. They couldn't afford the death of even one woman, man, or child."

"And you **_think_**I have this ability?"

"Yes, I do."

Sophia shook her head. "I still don't understand. When I was caught in the Flip, Luke did a mind merge with me, and pulled me out of it. Why can't someone else do this?"

Sherman shook his head. "It's not the same, Sophia. Luke didn't pull you out of it. All he did was convince you to stop fighting the Flip. You were caught, not because you weren't strong enough to complete the Change, but because you didn't want to accept what you are. And it is a testimony to that strength that you managed to stop it from its completion. Luke created a mind merge to convince you that it was okay to be what you are. The rest was all you."

Sophia bit her lip. Looking over at Skyler. Knowing that there wasn't much time left. 

"What about Ruby? She's older. She would have a better chance at doing this than me."

"There isn't enough time to track her down, and even if there was, there is no way to know whether or not she has this ability."

"But you think that I do?"

Sherman's gaze became even more serious. "I know you do, Sophia. The only thing is, **_you _**have to believe it as well if this is going to work. You have to know that you can do this. You have to be strong enough to accept this gift."

Sophia hugged her arms tighter across her chest, nodding slowly. This was it. This was a part of who she was supposed to be. What she had been borne for. She couldn't turn away from Skyler anymore than she could turn away from Wolf Lake and the Pack. Or from who she was.

"What am I supposed to do?"

****** 

Ruby was still in the shower when she felt the violence taking place outside the cabin. She didn't have to reach out to John through their mind-link to feel the swirling red of violence flooding his senses.

She was out of the shower in a blur. Bare skin dripping water over the wood planks, before her body started to shift into her wolf form. Running on instinct.

She didn't even pause as she hit the front window as hard as she could go. Her body a blur as she sliced through the shattering panes of glass. The sound and feel of the glass cutting into her paws not even registering, as she caught sight of her mate being attacked viciously by her greatest enemy... 

Her husband.

******

Sophia took a deep breath as she sat down beside Skyler. Taking the trembling girl's hand. Yellow eyes looking up at Sophia in desperation from a face twisted and misshapen. A body malformed from the Change.

Sophia's eyes trailed over the writhing body. Taking notice of the hospital gown drenched in sweat. She remembered how just the feel of the mattress under her back had been unbearable, so she could only imagine how the gown must feel.

This was it. The silent but efficient killer of their species, and it once again proved that they were their greatest enemy. She felt her eyes start to burn, but she blinked them rapidly. Now was not the time to express her emotions. She had a job to do.

She looked up at Skyler's boyfriend. Eyes once again dry, and serious. Commanding.

:"What's your name?" she asked quietly. Studying him as he looked over at her. His face pain racked. Hopeless.

"David."

Sophia's gaze softened. "David, thank you for taking care of Skyler. But now, I need to be alone with her."

David shook his adamantly. "No, she needs me!" His hand tightened on the half-transformed palm of Skyler's.

Sophia's gaze once again hardened, and her tone broke for no argument.

"David, you have to leave now. I need to be alone with Skyler."

David turned back towards Sophia. His face twisting into a snarl as his body hunched closer over the girl protectively. Eyes flaring yellow.

"I will not let you kill her!" he growled out. Every bit a protective male Skinwalker.

Sophia's eyes flickered softly, as she suppressed her frustration. "I have no intention of killing her, David! I'm going to try to save her, but while we are currently arguing about this, Skyler is slipping away! So I'm ordering you to leave us both, so I can save her!"

David let out a shuddering breath as he acknowledged the truth of her words. Sophia waited. Looking back at Skyler, he leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Pulling his hand loose from her grip, he reluctantly stepped away.

Before leaving the room, he turned back to look at Sophia. His heart in his eyes.

Before he could speak, Sophia cut him off.

"I'll take care of her. I promise."

David swallowed painfully, nodded, and left the room. Leaving Sophia and Skyler alone. 

****** 

"Sherman, I hope you know what you're doing." Matthew muttered as he watched the boy exit Skyler's room. Shutting the door behind him softly. Sherman just shrugged. Not answering.

Matt rubbed the back of his neck worriedly. Glancing over as Vivian entered the room. Her eyes narrowed as she saw both him and Sherman standing there.

"Would you mind telling me what is going on?" She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head to the side. Studying their expressions. "Why was I not informed of Skyler's predicament earlier?"

Matt looked over at Sherman. Leaving that question up to him.

Sherman tried to look innocent. "You weren't? Hmm. I could have sworn I left a message on your voice mail."

Vivian's jaw tightened. "I don't have voice mail."

Sherman paused for a moment. "Well, then. I guess you didn't get the message, V."

Vivian rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and shook her head. Her arms dropped down to position themselves on her hips. Looking back over at Matt. A flicker of curiosity as to why he was there.

"How is she?"

Sherman became serious. "Sophia is in with her now."

Vivian's head turned towards Sherman fast enough to warrant whiplash. "I'm assuming you have some reason for that?"

Sherman nodded. Barely able to hide the smirk going there. They still couldn't comprehend what Sophia was. Who she was. They still saw her as the half-breed.

Matt spoke up quietly. "Sherman believes that Sophia has some gift that will enable her to pull Skyler out of the Flip."

Vivian looked at Sherman in disbelief. "How can that be?"

"She's a white female, remember?"

"But, I've never heard of a white female, or any member of our race for that matter,  having this ability."

"Are you so sure about that, V?" Sherman tilted his head at her. His tone almost mocking her.

Vivian looked away in exasperation, not meeting his gaze.

The room fell silent, as they listened to the sounds of the girl locked within so much pain in the other room. Waiting for a miracle. 

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "Just For", by the artist "Nickelback" on the album Silver Side Up . When I first started this series I knew I was going to have to have a confrontation between John and Tyler, and I knew that this song would be the perfect POV for John. So much so that I had to reprint the lyrics here, so you'll see the exact meaning of the song…)

~~~~~~~~~

I want to take his eyes out   
Just for looking at you   
Yes I do   
I want to take his hands off   
Just for touching you   
Yes I do   
  
And I want to rip his heart out   
Just for hurting you   
And I want to break his mind down   
Yes I do   
  
And I want to make him   
Regret life since the day he met you   
Yes I do   
And I want to make him   
Take back all that he took from you   
Yes I do   
  
And I want to rip his heart out   
Just for hurting you   
And I want to break his mind down   
Yes I do

**~~~~~~~~~**

John didn't know where his instincts came from. He couldn't understand what it was that told him how to fight Tyler in this new and unfamiliar form. He just knew what he had to do. And the part of him that took over became a ruthless and dangerous killer. 

Thunder echoed throughout the forest. The dark sound reverberating in his mind. The air was thick with the smell of rain and kindling electricity from the undercurrents of lightening starting to flash around them.

His hatred for Tyler ran deep. Made his blood boil. When he thought of all the things he had done to Ruby…he saw red.

They fought. They bit. They clawed. They twisted in midair, straining to take the other down before being taken down first. Inflicting superficial wounds. But John sensed Tyler's sudden uncertainty, and he surged forward. Wanting the taste of his blood on his tongue. 

'Not much fun when someone is fighting back.' John's growl was heard loud and clear on the public mental path line used by all Skinwalkers. John knew without a doubt that Tyler was responsible for trying to blow him up, and in the process, killing Lenore. He knew that he had been responsible for Ruby's kidnapping. He knew he was responsible for more than one murder around here, and John didn't plan on letting him hurt anyone else.

He buried his snout further into the ruff of the gray wolf's neck. Ripping closer to his goal. Ignoring the sensation of teeth clamping on his shoulder. Crunching through muscle and down to the bone.

The black wolf ignored the pain suddenly streaking through his body, radiating from where the gray wolf's teeth were imbedded in his flesh. Trying to shatter the bone. Instead, the black wolf pushed for a firmer hold on the neck of his opponent. Burying his teeth deep and clamping down. The gray wolf's surprised yelp was muffled by the choking hold. But he still didn't let go of his grip on the black wolf's shoulder. They were both locked firmly within the dance of death.

But the gray wolf hadn't counted on Ruby.

Quickly evaluating the situation, she hit the gray wolf like the enraged female she was. Her teeth snapping at his muzzle, before reaching up and ripping into the side of his face. Mangling one of his ears. She pushed her body between that of the two battling males, trying to give her mate some relief. Back feet striking into the enemy's underbelly.

Tyler let go more out of surprise than pain. His teeth sliding out from John's pelt and wolven skin. Leaving a pretty deep and nasty wound.

Before Tyler could turn on Ruby, John lunged forward, knocking Ruby's smaller white, wolven body out of the way. He charged towards Tyler. His black pelt glittering in the oncoming darkness, and his black eyes glowing a fierce yellow. His mind a haze of intense rage.

Ruby quickly leapt back up, and followed him. Not about to let John fight Tyler on his own.

Faced with not one, but two enraged wolves bearing down on him, a gaping wound where John had ripped into his neck, his strength waning alarmingly, Tyler let out a fierce snarl, but made a hasty retreat back into the forest the way he came.

John wasn't going to let him go. No matter badly wounded he was himself. He charged in after him. But Ruby, being a little bit more in control than John, quickly cut him off. Snarling at him in warning when he tried to knock her out of the way again. She wasn't going to let him follow, when Tyler most assuredly had back up. John may have been injured, his shoulder mangled up pretty badly, but evne so, in his current state of mind, he probably could have finished Tyler off. 

But not if Tyler's goons got a hold of him first.

They needed to get out of there before they came, and head to Sherman's where they'd be reasonably safe. 

John fought his way back from the red haze of violence surrounding his wolven mind. Fought for control. He wasn't even aware of the constant low growls admitting from his animal throat, until Ruby shifted back into her human form in order to assess the physical damage done to his wolven body. Her palm came over the wound in his shoulder, watching as the blood slowed to a trickle as it started to heal.

"Shh," Ruby whispered. Pulling the black wolf closer to her. Knowing he would never hurt her. She buried her face in the fur at his neck and breathed deeply. Her heart still pounding in fear. Knowing she had almost lost him. She knew they needed to leave, but she couldn't help but sit there, just holding him.

John's growls stopped, and he let out a sigh. Somewhat back in control. He had never wanted to kill someone that bad before. But he couldn't exactly consider his 'human' instincts to the be the same as his wolven. He could already tell that he was going to have a problem learning how to control these new instincts. But he'd deal with controlling them, **_after_**he made sure Tyler was cold in his grave.

Thunder started to roll yet again, and a few drops of rain hit them. Ruby looked up at the sky, as the clouds opened up and a steady rain began to fall. Drenching them both.

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "To Whom It May Concern" by "Creed" This song has yet to be recorded on one of the band's albums, but can be found on the Soundtrack of "The Scorpion King". It really is an amazing song, and anyone who knows it, will realize just how well it works with the next scene. I could very easily see this song being paired with this next scene if it was an actual TV episode. Pop it in if you have it… if not… then what's wrong with you?!!! (laughing))

Sophia didn't know how long she sat there holding Skyler's hand. It could have been a minute, an hour, or a day. Time was starting to lose all meaning. She could feel it starting to slip away. Leaving just the sound of Sophia's heart beating slowly in her chest. The rhythm soothing in comparison to Skyler's, which was beating extremely fast and erratically. The sound jarring.

Sophia leaned over Skyler's face, smoothing back the matted hair clinging to her forehead. She felt the crystal hanging around her neck, slide out of her blouse to hang loosely around her neck. The pendant dangling in midair, suspended by the silver chain. She didn't bother tucking it back in, but left it where it was.

Sophia would later think back on this moment. She would try to remember how she had started it. How the connection had been formed. It was if something else entirely had taken over. Not her human side, and not her wolven. But something completely different. A part of her she had never realized she possessed.

It was if suddenly, all her fear had been pressed away into some crevice of her mind. All of her doubt and confusion. Uncertainty and desperation. Leaving nothing behind but the knowledge and the desire to save this girl.

And she knew she could do it.

Her mind reached out to Skyler through an unknown mind link that had been created upon physical contact with Skyler's forehead. Sophia's hand grasped the younger girl's firmly, as she tuned into the erratic heartbeat. Knowing she had to start there.

Compelling it to slow from its fast-paced race, she matched it to her own. Soothing it. Calming Skyler down with it. Forcing her muscles to relax against the turmoil within.

But that was only the first step. Reaching deeper with her mind, Sophia found herself following the glittering path deep into Skyler's mind. Submerging herself in the agony that surrounded the mind like a thick, black swirling cloud. Smothering the life from the younger girl.

Concentrating on what Sophia knew needed to be done, she merged her strength with what was left of Skyler's, and flooded that dark place with light. Dragging the small, barely flickering life force huddling within a tiny corner of her mind, into that light. 

Aware that what she was doing was causing Skyler's body to arch up and off the bed, the sound of her shrieks ringing in Sophia's ears, but she knew she couldn't stop. She could feel Skyler's body starting to contort further. Making room for the emerging wolven form. Gritting her teeth, Sophia grasped even harder upon that life force, and pouring every bit of mental ability that she had into it, **_forced_**Skyler's human shell to give up the fight, and fully convert into the blondish red wolf suddenly laying in front of Sophia.

Slowly and carefully exiting Skyler's exhausted mind, Sophia broke off the contact. Acknowledging for just a brief second that Skyler had passed out, still in wolf form. But very much alive.

Sophia's relief was great as she realized that Skyler was going to make it. She was going to survive. But her sudden weakness was greater. Collapsing to the ground, Sophia  passed out before her body even hit the concrete floor.

****** 

John and Ruby made their way through the forest in their wolven skins as fast as John's injuries would allow. The rain was still coming down steadily as the forest became as inky black as the early night sky. The clouds from the storm blocking all light that might have shown from the moon or stars.

The black fur of John's pelt slinked through the bushes, invisible. Shadowed by Ruby, the white of her pelt moving like a ghost over the forest floor. Casting concerned glances towards her mate, as he couldn't disguise the severe limp to his movement, not even in the surrounding darkness. Not from her.

He was hurting, but never once slowed down, or even let out a whimper when his movements continually jarred the gaping tear in his shoulder. A slight grinding sound was present. Either from torn tendon or bone, Ruby couldn't tell, she just wanted to get him to Sherman's as quickly as possible.

They traveled cautiously. Well aware that Tyler and his goons weren't the only potential dangers at the moment. They stayed well aware of all the movements of the various life forms in the forest. Cautiously searching with their wolven senses for any signs of humans. Finding none.

Satisfied that they were traveling unseen through the forest, Ruby brushed John's mind with hers. Flooding him with her soothing touch. Trying the ease the pain he was feeling.

John leaned over, slowing in his pace long enough to nuzzle her briefly in reassurance.

It was that pause that proved later to be the thing that saved their lives.

As they started to pace side by side again through the remaining portion of the forest, the leaf covered ground beneath their paws suddenly gave way, and they were both falling through the air, into a pit that had been created to trap any passing animals.

It wasn't the first time that the Skinwalkers of Wolf Lake had found similar traps. Some set by pranksters of their own race. What was different though, was the fact that several tall, sharp spikes had been set within the trap. Their tips barely visible in the darkness. Calling a quick warning to the other, they both twisted in midair, to avoid hitting the spikes. Instead, aiming for the spaces between.

John landed hard on his side. His injured shoulder shrieking in agony as it impacted on the ground, but he was otherwise unharmed.

Ruby wasn't quite so fortunate.

Managing to twist enough midair to avoid hitting anything vital on the spikes, her back hind leg still was speared clean through. Pinned firmly.

Ruby's wolven throat let out a scream of pain, as she felt the spike slice through skin, muscle and bone. 

'Ruby!' 

John quickly shape shifted back into his human form to try to help her, but he quickly found that the spikes were too tall, and his arm was too injured to lift her up and off the spike she was impaled on.

Ruby tried to block the breath-taking pain knifing through her like a living thing. Trying to keep from passing out. She focused on sending a mental call on the public line used by all the Skinwalkers. But she quickly stopped. Knowing that if she did, Tyler would hear. And then things would go really badly. And in their combined condition, there was no way they could fight off another attack. 

John knew it too, and looked around him in desperation. There was no way out of the pit, and even if there was, he didn't think he could handle leaving Ruby like this. Even if it was only long enough to get help.

Ruby tried to think beyond the pain long enough to figure out what to do. Something in her mind kept tickling on the edge of her awareness. And a question began to form. If she couldn't contact anyone using the public mental path, then maybe, just maybe, she could contact someone else through a pathway that she sensed already existed, even though she had never used it.

Realizing that she had to take the chance, Ruby sent a firm call along that strange mental path. Hoping that by doing so, she would contact the one person that she believed could track them down. The one person she knew she was going to have to trust her life and that of her mate with. 

And that person just happened to be the only other white female in Wolf Lake.

****** 

When Sophia came to, she had been removed from Skyler's room, and was stretched out on a rather stiff old couch, her head pillowed on Luke's lap. Her father hovering close by, concern written on his face. 

Sherman was standing in the corner, arms crossed. Observing everything with a calm demeanor. She saw Vivian sitting over in another chair across from her. Rubbing the back of her neck in an effort to relieve the tension. Her expression tired. Sophia didn't think she'd gotten that much sleep lately.

She looked back up at Luke, closing her eyes, as she felt his fingers brush over her forehead.

" You scared us there for a little while. How're you feeling?"

Sophia smiled at the concern she heard in Luke's tone. It never ceased to amaze her how much he'd changed from the hard, sometimes cold hearted, self-absorbed bad-boy that he'd been for so long. And that was still a part of him that she saw reflected in his eyes when he was around other members of the Pack. But never when his eyes met her.

If there hadn't been other people in the room (i.e. her father) she thought she could have grasped him by the back of the neck, and brought that mouth of his down to hers. Instead, she settled for a smile of affirmation.

"I'm fine." She whispered. Sitting up slowly. She was surprised that was wasn't weaker than she was. Other than a quickly fading headache, she felt just fine.

It was then that she noticed the cuts in Luke's exposed chest. None of them looked serious, but they were across her side, his chest, his shoulder. A longer set were on his thigh, and a small but deep cut was visible above his left eye.

Luke saw her concern, and he smiled at her wryly. Quickly telling her through their private mental path that he would explain later.

He gently supported her as she finally righted herself. Running her hands through her hair to push it away from her face, she looked towards the closed off room.

"Is Skyler okay?" she asked quietly. Glancing towards Sherman.

"She's fine. David's with her now."

Sophia nodded. Glad to hear that everything had worked out. A frown flickered across her face as she glanced at Vivian. The older woman was looking at her like she'd seen a ghost. Her face pale and her eyes confused.

Sophia looked away, and met her father's gaze. The corners of her lips turned up wryly.

"It's been a long couple of days, hasn't it?"

Matt chuckled, and started to answer, when he saw a strange expression cross Sophia's face. He suddenly became even more worried than before.

Sophia shot upright. Her fingers digging deep into the edge of the couch. Her face paled as she listened to something only she could hear.

Vivian's expression sharpened with concern, as Sherman stepped forward.

Luke grasped Sophia's shoulder. Sitting forward to try to read her expression.

"Baby, what is it?"

Sophia held a hand up. Hushing him. Closing her eyes, she sent a brief reply on confirmation back to Ruby on the strange mental path. Having done that. She turned to look at everyone in the group. Her mouth tightening as she stood up.

"John and Ruby are in trouble. They need our help, now."

Vivian stood up slowly. "What happened?"

"They've fallen into a trap. Ruby is in a lot of pain. I think her back leg was speared on something. The details are hazy. John isn't in any shape to help her either."

Vivian's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't she use the public mental pathway of the Pack?'

Sophia shook her head. "I think she was worried about Tyler and his goons finding them before we did."

Sherman nodded grimly. "Yeah, Tyler doesn't exactly play by the rules. If he could get rid of John when he's injured, he'll do it."

"What are we waiting for?" Matt muttered, herding everyone towards the door.

"Where are they?" Vivian asked Sophia as they walked out the door.

"Ruby didn't get a chance to tell me before she passed out."

"Then how are we going to find them?" Luke asked. Standing close to Sophia.

Sophia tilted her chin up. "I know where they are."

"How?"

Sophia took the lead. Starting to unbutton her blouse, as Matt and Sherman went ahead to give her privacy. Matt, Luke and Vivian were already changing out of their clothes as well, as they prepared to shift. Leaving their clothes scattered behind them.

"I just do."

****** 

John could hear the wolves coming closer. His body tensed, as he leaned protectively over Ruby. His eyes glowing with the barely suppressed male wolf so close to the edge. Wanting to rip anyone or anything that threatened Ruby apart with his bare hands. He was more wolf than man at this point. The echoes of her intense pain sounding off in his mind, despite her attempts to shield him from them. Their connection was strong, and in so being, he could everything that was happening to her, as if it was happening to him.

He couldn't help her. He couldn't relieve her pain. And his helplessness enraged him. Causing his body to tremble with suppressed aggression as he prepared himself to attack any who would harm her. He couldn't make her pain stop, but he could at least see to it that nobody added to it.

Ruby heard the growls admitting from John's throat. His rising tension. Sensing who it was approaching, she tried to wake up. Cautioning Sophia to move slowly.

_'John! Don't! I called Sophia! They're here to help.'_

John battled down his rage, and took in a deep, shuddering breath. His eyes still glowing. He watched as a white wolf came to stand over the pit. Her fur soaked with the still falling rain. 

Sophia observed the following scene calmly. She could see clearly Ruby's white wolf form impaled on one of the upright spikes. Soaked with blood, water, and mud, barely conscious. The spear was keeping her from bleeding outright, but it was also keeping her from healing. And the strain of her body trying to fight its way around the wound in order to heal was visible.

John was crouched over her. His body naked and coated with the mud from the recently dug out pit. His eyes still glittering in warning, even though she could see him sigh in relief at the sight of her. 

She also saw the deep ugly wound in his shoulder, where it looked as if a wild animal had torn into him. She could smell Tyler's scent, and knew who it was that had done the damage. And why Ruby had been so adamant that they not use the public mental path.

_'Over here.' _Sophia called to the others nonchalantly. Not giving any details. She had already told them that they needed to be completely quiet when it came to the public mental pathway. Sherman had gone to retrieve his car in order to transport Ruby and John once they got them out. He was already waiting at the edge of the forest. 

Luke's gray wolven form came over to stand close to Sophia, looking the scene over. Matt and Vivian following close behind. The three started to shift back into human form to work together to free John and Ruby, while Sophia remained in her wolf form. Because doing so, helped her keep in contact with Ruby along the mental path that they seemed to share. 

Simply because they were both white wolves.

****** 

"How are you feeling?" Sophia spoke softly, as she came to stand in front of John.

He was stretched out on the bed. Sherman was working on Ruby's wound, where she had been placed beside him. The wound had been severe, slicing through muscle and bone. But the sharpened steel spike had missed anything vital that might have proposed a more serious life-threatening injury.

Even so, the sounds of her screams when they had managed to lift her off the spike were not sounds anyone within hearing distance was going to forget.

Matt had already helped take care of John's wound, and it was wrapped securely. His arm in a sling, till his wolven healing abilities managed to mend the torn skin, muscle and tendon.

John shook his head. "Not too hot. But it's her I'm worried about." He looked over at Ruby, and stroked his palm down her slightly damp pelt.  She had fallen asleep due to some "special" medication that Sherman had given her, and was resting peacefully. Her sides rising steadily with her even breaths. Sherman was still working on the wound. Packing it with a strange mixture or herbs and creams. John had given up asking what.

Sophia smiled gently. "I'm sure Ruby will be just fine."

John looked back over at Sophia. Studying her expression before speaking.

"Thank you."

Sophia ducked her head down shyly. Tucking a wayward strand back behind her ear. "Anytime."

John glanced down at her movements, and noticed the strange pendant around her neck.

Sophia followed his line of sight. Touching the crystal with her fingertips. "It was a gift. From one of my ancestors."

John nodded slowly. Figuring out from Sophia's expression which ancestor that had been. He looked back over at Ruby. His hand having never left her fur.

Sophia quietly excused herself from the room, and went over to curl up on the couch by Luke. Her body was surrounded by a large terrycloth robe. Luke was wearing a pair of jeans that were part of a collection that was always available at Sherman's place, to any Skinwalker that had misplaced their own.

She curved her body into his, and rested her head on his chest, her eyes closing as she let out a deep sigh. She was so tired, and this had been one hell of a day. She just wanted to sleep.

Luke absently stroked back her hair from her face, as he listened to her heartbeat slowing down as her body entered its much needed sleep cycle. He leaned his head back against the wall, and closed his tired pale green eyes. His arms comfortably but slightly possessively circled around Sophia's slender frame. Confident in his ability to keep her at his side. The faded pale pink lines of scars left from some of the deeper flesh wounds he had sustained earlier that day was prove to that ability. 

Soon he was asleep as well.

****** 

"This has definitely been an interesting day." Vivian commented wryly to Matt as they stepped outside onto Sherman's front porch in order to keep from waking up Luke and Sophia. They didn't bother turning on the lights. They could see the other perfectly.

"That it has." Matt agreed as he hooked his hands in his front jeans' pockets as he leaned against the brick exterior wall. Smiling slightly at Vivian as she observed his casual pose. She glanced over at the road as she watched a car passing by. It's wheels splashing in the water coating the asphalt. She turned back to look at Matt, suddenly serious.

"That trap that we pulled John and Ruby out of wasn't created by anyone in Wolf Lake."

Matt tilted his head up to observe the rain still pouring down off the roof above them. 

"Hmm, perhaps. There's no way to know for sure."  

Thunder rolled around them. Echoing across the surrounding area and off the various houses.

Vivian shook her head at his casual tone. "I'm serious, Matt. That trap is exactly what the Hunters used against us back in the Dark Ages. They always left it as sort of their calling card." She spat out the last with disgust. The fire in her eyes visible.

"Hey," Matt cautioned softly, his hand reaching out to turn Vivian's chin back towards him. He met her gaze commandingly as lightening flashed. Silhouetting them both as they studied each other. Both trying to ignore the sudden flash of lightening chemistry arching right there, between them. Their own private light show.

"I take this just as seriously as you do, V. Don't ever think I don't."

Vivian observed him quietly. Her breath catching in her throat as his fingers still cradled her chin. She saw the desire reflected in his eyes, or was that hers? She wasn't sure. She only knew that she had wanted, _needed, _this man since she had first fallen in love with him so long ago.

And for an insane instant, she thought he might kiss her. But when his fingers fell away and he leaned back, she realized that that just might never happen. And it broke her heart. Hers, which she had conditioned for so long to be a hard, tough muscle that never felt anything. But with just a gaze and the touch of his fingertips, that could all change. 

In some ways she hated that he had that kind of power over her. 

And in other ways, she never wanted that weakness to leave her.

"Matt…" Vivian whispered. Knowing how her tone must be filled with longing and pain. 

With him, she could be herself, without fear of reprisal or revealing too much to one who could be the wrong person. He already knew her soul intimately, whether he was willing to admit it.

Matt shook his head softly. "Shh…" Reaching out to grasp Vivian's shoulders, he pulled her to him. His arms going around her as she pressed her head into the curve of his neck. Inhaling shakily. Arms going around his back to cling to him. Never wanting to leave.

Matt closed his eyes, and allowed his hand to reach up into her hair, intertwining his fingers in the thick blond strands. Simply satisfying himself with the smell of her.

They stood there as the rain continued to come down steadily. Thunder and lightening running together like lovers of the skies.

And they stood there. Just…feeling.

****** 

Seemingly oblivious to cold rain pouring down upon them, two darkly clothed men strode over to look down into the abandoned trap pit. Seeing dispassionately the signs of a struggle within, and the swirls of blood still floating in the thick puddle of water/mud at the base of the spears. White fur still clinging to the tip of one of the spears, and laying deep within the pit.

One of the men looked at the other. One of them was was older, and obviously the boss.  No words were spoken, but one of them left to go back to their abandoned vehicle. The same man would have been recognized as being the captor of Presley, if there had been any witnesses. The other one, his boss, turned towards the unlikely ally as he appeared from the bushes. His naked body glittering wetly in the rain. Marred by some fading bruises and cuts. Blond hair sticking to the forehead of the attractive but cold face. His eyes flickering gold obscenely as he smiled chillingly at the dark-clothed man in front of him.

"Looks like your trap didn't work out as well as you thought it would." the naked man taunted, looking coolly down into the pit. Recognizing whose blood that was still present. 

The older man shrugged. "It's no concern of mine. We still have the other one to work on. She'll suffice as long as we need her. The only thing you need to concern yourself on is what we already discussed. All I need from you is to do your part, and you will have **_everything_** that you wished for."

The naked man just laughed. "Don't worry, I'll do my job. Nobody wants to see the Leaders of the Pack dead, worse than me. You just better not betray me." The last was spoken in a silken tongue wrapped in steel with its cold threat.

He turned away from the older man. Briefly exposing a large, deep cut currently healing on the side of his throat. Recently inflicted by his enemy. One that had managed to save himself yet again from death, not once, but twice in the same night.

But it didn't matter. He'd get the pleasure of ripping his heart out soon enough. Just like Ruby had ripped out his.

Slipping quietly back into the bushes, he shapeshifted quickly into his steel-gray wolven pelt. Quickly disappearing from sight. Leaving the older man and leader of the Hunters standing there in the rain. His face expressionless. He tilted his head up to look at the raindrops falling around him. Lit by the flashes of lightening and feeling the reverberations of the rolls of thunder as they echoed around the pitch-black forest of Wolf Lake.

**************************************** 

TBC soon in Chapter Ten, Ep. 18 – "Crimson Night"

Don't forget to review! (See, it's that little button down in the left-hand corner of your screen. Click it… Come on, click it. You can do it!)  ; )                                                                                       


	10. Ep 18, Crimson Moon

Chapter Ten, Ep. 18 – "Crimson Night" 

Author's Note – Here it is! 11,000 words of yet another chapter to one of my masterpieces! (thank you, thank you! *imaginary bowing to imaginary crowd*)

Yeah, I know. I took my own sweet time getting this "masterpiece" out. My Muse and I had a crisis together. I had written the first six pages of this chapter, like, the day after I posted "The White Wolves", but then I hadn't been able to write since then, till the last few days when my Muse finally returned from its hiatus, so that's why it took so long. I think it's a good thing that I've only got a couple more eps. to go after this, because, despite how much I've enjoyed this story, and how successful it has become, my muse wants to move on to greener pastures. I wouldn't have been able to have gone as long as I have if it wasn't for the constant support through e-mails and reviews. Again, a big thank you to all that have enjoyed this ride right along with me.

Before I start up with chapter ten, there is one story I wanted to mention, that has really no relation at all to WL. 

I'm aware that a decent handful of my fans for this series are also fans of the movie Labyrinth. In that case, I wanted to let you guys know about a story I recently uncovered.

I've been a laby fan fic fan for over four years now. I've read quite a few of them… many of which can't be found on the Net anymore… and there have been many that I've enjoyed. Some that I've downright loved. But I've never really, in all honesty, found that one story that, in my mind, was IT.

What do I mean by IT? I mean that it is THE sequel to the Labyrinth. Catching perfectly the chemistry between Sarah and Jareth, but never at any time getting out of character. Jareth is even more frightening, and Sarah just as passionate. I can't begin to describe to you how amazing this author's talent is for writing this story. Or how incredibly REAL this story has become to me. It's like I can actually see it playing out like it was on the movie screen. I urge any Laby fans to read this story.

It is listed here at ff.net, and is entitled "A Forfeit Of Dreams" by K L Morgan. Please read it if you haven't already! You won't be disappointed.

Also, I'd like to offer a couple of documents that I have in relation to Labyrinth.

I have the Early Movie Script for the film. What the original concept for the story was, before it became the movie we all know and love. It's… definitely an interesting piece. It has a take on the "Dance Scene" and the ending that will make you think. Worth viewing if you're a J/S shipper (and I think we all are!)

Also, I have a document of the original Novel. And I'm not referring to the children's book either, but the actual novel based on the movie (or movie based on the book… I'm not sure which is which.) The book that has been out of print for a long time, and you can't get for less than $40.00 at the places I checked.

There aren't any pictures, but all the original text is there. I've had these for several years now. I just stumbled into some hole on the Internet and picked them up. I'm not really sure HOW that happened, but heck… don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?

I was planning on posting them at ff.net, but I was worried that it might threaten my membership here at ff.net, seeing as how I'm sure there are copyright laws involved somewhere. Both documents are free to anyone who has an e-mail address that I can send them to. If you're interested, send me your e-mail either through a review, or through an e-mail. Whichever you prefer. 

Enjoy!

Chapter Ten, Ep. 18 – "Crimson Night"

2nd A/N – Rating goes up YET again! (grin)

Summery – The threat to Wolf Lake begins to tighten its grip on the small town, as the Pack begins to fear a repeat of what their ancestors experienced, lines will be drawn, and Vivian's leadership challenged, as they all fight to discover what the future will hold in store for them… Or if there will even be a future at all.

*** 

When Sophia groggily began to awake, it was to the lulling sound of rain pouring steadily upon the roof of the house she was currently residing in. Groaning, she pressed her cheek more firmly into the familiar chest that it had made a pillow of, her arms tightening around Luke's waist, as she attempted to go back to sleep. Snuggling in for the long haul.

"Come on, baby. It's time to get up." Luke whispered softly in her ear, amused at her sleepiness. Course, they were all tired after this week. He himself had only awakened a short while ago. Content to lie there with her in his arms. Watching and listening as she had reluctantly stirred.

Sophia let out another groan, and buried her face deeper into the curve of his neck. Huddling close, seeking his warmth. She had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

"Baby, it's almost ten. You can't go back to sleep.

Sophia's response was a light growl. Eyes still tightly closed. Rainy days always made her sleepy. She didn't care what time it was, she wasn't getting up.

Course, she hadn't counted on Luke not taking no for an answer.

Luke let out a sigh of bemusement as he ran his suddenly heated palms down her sides to her lean hips. Feeling the curvature of her form. Sophia let out a small whimper of delight as he began to massage her waist. His hands moving tenderly over her body as he circled round to knead at her back and thighs. His movements designed to soothe, but also awaken.

But Sophia still hadn't shown any signs of opening those eyes of hers anytime soon, so his creative hands changed course.

Sophia's eyelids cracked open slightly as she felt that talented pair slide around her back to dip lower. Gathering her backside neatly into both palms. Kneading firmly.

Sophia picked her head up to look at Luke, slightly stunned at his contact. He just looked back down at her. His gaze far too innocent for his own good.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sophia asked quietly. Her voice husky as she looked up at him with those slumberous dark eyes of hers. Bedroom eyes. Luke felt himself become hard in reaction to that gaze, as his heart swelled to a point where he thought he would burst. Both literally and figuratively. He would never get tired of waking up beside her. Never. A lifetime with her would never be enough.

He smiled down at her slightly puzzled expression as he continued to gently massage.

"I would call this your wake up call, babe." Luke teased. Watching her eyes glower at him before dropping her head back into his shoulder.

"Who said I was getting up?" Sophia grumbled. She didn't care how creative he was getting with her backside, she wasn't going anywhe– 

In response to her pointed question, Luke shifted his weight. Bringing her in closer as one of his oh-so-talented hands left that tantalizing rear to slide down further… further… until…

Sophia's eyes shot open as she felt Luke cup her feminine core right through the fabric of her jeans. The heat from his fingers scorching her.

**_That_ **got her up!

Sophia never moved so fast.

Once she was a safe distance from Luke, she turned back and glowered at him. Her body coming alive from his ministrations, but considering that they weren't the only ones in the house, it wasn't exactly the best timing.

And damn it if he didn't know what he was doing!

The grin on his face was confirmation enough of that.

"My father is in the next room!" Sophia hissed unbecomingly at him. Hands placed on her hips, and chest heaving slightly from her flustered state.

If possible, Luke's grin became even bigger. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he observed her. His heated gaze flickering over her attractive form. Causing Sophia to blush from his perusal.

His teasing gaze met hers again as he leaned back against the couch, the corners of his mouth twitching in an attempt to restrain from laughing at her.

"Then I guess next time you'll get up when I tell you to, hmm?"

Sophia's jaw dropped at his outrageous suggestion, and she stormed out of the living room. Stalking down the hallway, she grabbed a towel out of the hamper and made her way to the bathroom. 

Luke's eyes glittered wickedly as he sent her a suggestion through their mental link.

'I'm guessing there's not any room in that shower for two, is there?' 

The sound of the door slamming firmly shut and the lock sliding in place was Luke's answer.

His answering laughter echoed both throughout the house and on their mental path.

******

Ruby's body was throbbing when she came to. But with two very different reasons.

One was that she had a still-mending hole punched through her thigh. The other was because of the contact of her mate's body curled protectively around hers in his sleep.

Ruby craned her neck up to look at his face, the tips of her fingers coming up to brush gently over his cheek. She still couldn't believe, that after all this time, and all the dangers they had faced, both separately and together, that they were still here, sleeping side by side as they were meant to be.

She thought back on the fight between John and Tyler, and her gaze strayed to John's shoulder. She lifted her head to get a better view of the angry looking wound.

Bleeding had stopped, and the gaping entrance had sealed over, but it was still going to be a while before it was fully healed, and that bothered Ruby immensely. Nether one of them was at full strength. They would have to rely on the protection of others till they were.

John, sensing Ruby's movement, stirred awake. Opening his eyes to greet the welcoming sight of her face. She was still pale, her normally red colored lips were a pale shade of pink, and dark shadows lay under her eyes. But she was alive. They both were. 

And after all they had been through, she was still the most beautiful creature in the world to him.

"Good morning." Ruby's smile was still all it took for John to feel at peace. The concerns of the present momentarily forgotten in her eyes.

"Hmm," John stretched lazily. Wincing at the sudden sharp twinge in his shoulder. "Morning. How're you feeling?"

Ruby looked at him wryly. "How am I feeling? Well, let's see," she mockingly tapped her finger against her chin. "I feel like I got shish-ka-bobed through the thigh with a very large, nasty spike." She looked back over at John teasingly. "How about you?"

John chuckled dryly. "Like I had my shoulder nearly ripped out of my body by an extremely pissed off wolf."

Ruby sighed as she ran her hand through her long dark mane. Pushing it away from her tightly drawn face.

Giving up on the possibility of getting up anytime soon, she turned her body closer to John's, and snuggled into his side. Tucking her head underneath his chin, where she'd be able to hear the steady sound of his heartbeat against her ear. The sound was soothing after everything else they had had to go through. The rain pouring outside and the occasional roll of thunder complimenting the moment.

John kept his good arm wrapped around her shoulders, and buried his hand into the mass of silk on top of her head. Breathing her smell down deep into his body.

****** 

"What's going to happen now, Sherman?" Vivian asked tiredly as she raised the cup of coffee to her lips. She could hear the sounds of Sophia finishing her shower in the bathroom, as well as Luke trying to track down a shirt in the free-for-all bin that Sherman kept for the Skinwalkers that found themselves needing clothing. Ruby and John had yet to come out of the bedroom, but that was to be expected. At least, judging by the sound of soft murmuring behind that closed door, she knew that Ruby had made it through the night.

Vivian knew she was going to have to ask them, word for word, what happened to them last night, but for right now, her mind was on other things. She'd just received word that Presley was missing, and no one had seen her since that night of the Meeting. Vivian cast a speculative glance at the bathroom door. No one, except for Sophia.

Not that she thought that the young girl was responsible. She knew Sophia wasn't a killer. But she knew it wasn't going to stop other members of the Pack from thinking she had something to do with the girl's disappearance. She hoped that Sophia would be able to handle the speculation and gossip that would be sure to follow.

But it didn't matter what they all thought, because V, Sherman and Matt knew the truth. Presley had been captured by the Hunters. Whether the others wanted to admit it or not.

Sherman sighed. "I don't know, V." We're just going to have to prepare ourselves and see which way this thing goes. That's all we can do."

"Isn't there some way to track them? Some way to find out where they're holed up at?" Matt asked quietly. Looking up from where he was leaning his forearms on the breakfast nook. His eyes hard and calculating as he sought a way to figure this threat out. There had to be some way…

Sherman leaned his head into his hands and groaned. He hadn't gotten any sleep last night. Having stayed up researching old documents in the hopes of uncovering anything that might be useful. So far, he hadn't been successful.

"Records on the Hunters are vague at best. I'm trying to find something, anything, on them… but so far, I haven't been able to do so." Sherman looked up from his hands to glance dryly over at Vivian. 

"You know, it might just come down to evacuating Wolf Lake."

Vivian's gaze sharpened. "And then what, Sherman? Where are we going to go? Where the hell can we go that we'd be safe? The twenty-first century is not like the age when we left the Old World for the New. This is an age of technology and intelligence. We can't move into another town and take over. If we left Wolf Lake, we would lose everything that we have fought to achieve."

Sherman ran his hand through his hair. "But at least you'd still be alive."

Vivian gazed at him in disbelief. "I thought that you were on my side, Sherman. I thought you agreed with me that we shouldn't leave Wolf Lake."

"I do, Vivian. If it's possible for us to do so. But right now, I'm starting to wonder if it is."

Vivian scoffed at him and started to turn away, not wanting to hear anymore. Sherman reached out a restraining hand and grasped her by the forearm, turning her back to look at him.

"Listen to me, V. What's worse? Risking the lives of every member of the Pack, possible exposure to the outside world, and complete genocide of your species, or facing the unknown of leaving Wolf Lake and trying to start somewhere else?"

Vivian shook her head. Hardly believing what he was saying. "You can't be serious. If we leave this town, we'll never stop running. The Hunters will follow, and it'll never stop." Vivian looked away. The glitter of tears in her hardened eyes. "When are we going to be safe from the dangers of our ancestors? From the dangers brought on by us simply being as we were created to be? How can we fight off an enemy we can't even see as they strike at us in the dark?"

Sherman didn't answer, he just studied her. Sadness reflected in his eyes. Matt observing this exchange with a growing sense of dread. 

Was leaving Wolf Lake slowly becoming their only available option?

****** 

School was cancelled in Wolf Lake. Lies were created for the human attendants, but those of the Skinwalker species knew better. 

Young children stayed home with their parents. Older members of the younger generation gathered around each other and loved ones. All tense and waiting for what the shifts in the undercurrents of the hatred of their species would blow their way. They looked upon anyone that they didn't recognize as a threat. Wondering constantly what was going to happen tomorrow, or the day after that… or the day after that.

Or, for them and Wolf Lake, if tomorrow would even come.

It didn't take too long for word to get out about the miracle that Sophia had performed. The gift that she had been granted due to her white wolf heritage. The concept filled them with both awe and fear. For if she possessed that kind of gift, what else might she possess? And what of Ruby? What gifts would the rebellious young woman carry within her body?

Part of their fear was stemmed from the fact they didn't want to hope. They didn't want to place complete trust in the two rare females in the hopes that they would save their species. How could they, despite their coloring, go up against their ancient enemies? How could a half-breed and a traitor ever possibly save them?

Rumors flew, and where they flew, paranoia followed. Not the overwhelming kind that humans tended to experience, but the cold, calculating, dangerous kind. 

The kind that could bring on a blood bath, dragging at its heels. 

And on the wings of that paranoia, lines were being drawn.

There were those that believed they should leave Wolf Lake and never look back. Those that believed they should scatter, and those that believed they should stay together.

There were those that thought they should remain and fight. Protect the humans of the town… And those that superior attitude was damn all the ungulates to hell. As it was humans that were their greatest threat, after all.

There were those that were happy to follow Vivian. And those that believed she wasn't worthy to lead in a crisis like this. Some wanted a male to take her Alpha status away, and those that believed the white females were destined to lead.

And among all of these lines, all of the various opinions as to what was better for the safety of their race, was a steady core of violence and turmoil starting to boil. Animal instincts of self-preservation that would begin to push the members of their species – so different from that of humans – into a bloody civil war.

It was events like these that would make or break a Pack. Create their history, or their Armageddon. Forge a dynasty, or bring the old one to its knees…

Because when wolves were threatened, there were always those members that would begin to turn on each other in misplaced retaliation.

****** 

"I hate this!" Sophia snarled as she paced around Luke and Vivian's living room for the hundredth time. Matt, Sherman, and Vivian had gone off somewhere. John and Ruby had remained at Sherman's house. Still recuperating from the injuries they had sustained the night before. Sherman had thought it was best not to have Ruby and Sophia in the same place at the same time, thus her removal to the Cates' Mansion.

 Rain was still pouring steadily outside; she turned head and allowed her eyes to flicker over the drops cascading down off the roof through one of the windows. The sight did little to relieve her tension, and she began to pace again.

Luke looked up from where he was crouched in front of the fireplace. The pieces of wood he had just placed in the open, darkened mouth, crackled to life as the small flame from his match set it aflame. The light reflecting off of Luke's visage as he slowly stood. Amusement flickering in his eyes.

Sophia couldn't help but admire the display of muscles and tendons playing underneath his clothes, as a reminder to just how graceful and silent he could move. Not even his clothing rustled. Although the sight of those recently acquired jeans clinging and tightening over his thighs as he came to his feet had Sophia's mouth momentarily going dry. 

Luke's smile widened as if he knew what she was thinking. No… correction… like she was **_broadcasting _**again. Sophia's face momentarily tint a rather interesting shade of pink as she turned her back to him and began to pace yet again. She either didn't realize or didn't acknowledge the way Luke's gaze trailed over her back. Watching the play of tension in her shoulders, the irritated but oh-so-desirable swish of her slender hips, and the muscles in her legs twisting with the suppressed desire to let out her pent-up emotions.

"I hate this." Sophia repeated darkly. Raking her fingers through her hair. "I hate not knowing what's going on. Why my father left so suddenly with Sherman and Vivian. They're out there, getting involved in who-knows-what, while I'm tucked away in here!"

"Be assured that you are not doing this alone." Luke muttered grimly. Not really any more pleased with this situation either. He walked over and intercepted Sophia's erratic pacing by pulling her into his embrace, her back up against his chest. He nuzzled the side of her cheek, the warmth of his breath brushing against the tiny shell of her ear. Raising a chill upon her flesh. She let out a sigh and relaxed into his grip. Her head falling back on his chest.

"Sherman thinks it is best if we just try to lay low for right now. Ruby has been attacked more than once lately, and until we have a better idea about what the Hunters are up to, you and her both need to be kept safe."

Sophia rolled her eyes and yanked away, Still frustrated at being confined. Luke's fingers wrapped around her wrist in a gentle shackle. Only letting her go as far as the length of her arm would allow. Sophia glared back at him indignantly as she tried to pull away, but his grip was firm.

Luke fought to hide his amusement at the way her eyes flickered yellow fire at him briefly. He did understand how she felt though. It wasn't easy for any dominant Skinwalker, male or female, to be restricted to safety while others were in danger. And so far, those three hadn't even bothered to let them know what they were up to.  Luke just had to trust that if they got into trouble, they would call out across the public mental path.

"Sophia, babe, listen to me. If there's any trouble, I'm sure they'll let us know."

Sophia gritted her teeth silently. Not trying to pull her wrist free anymore. She glanced down at the sight of his lean fingers wrapped around the pale slenderness of her wrist. Her skin sensitive to the slight raspiness of the pads of his fingertips. That was all it took for her body to suddenly come alive. Awareness of him tingling through her body. Awakening nerve endings and leaving a trail of fire in its wake.

"Sophia…" Luke whispered hoarsely, encouraging her to look at him. Sophia complied, but then realized her mistake when she saw the same feelings she was experiencing reflected brazenly in his eyes. 

Sophia suddenly had another flashback to the dream she had had shortly before her Flip. When her body had been warning her about the oncoming Change. The one she had woken up from with glowing yellow eyes, and a heady desire that had burned its way through her body like a wildfire for the man standing in front of her. The man that a week ago she never would have trusted with her body. Much less her heart. It was amazing how much had changed.

The vision of them together in that dream was a memory forever emblazoned upon her mind. The way he had looked at her then, was the way he was looking at her now. All cockiness and the adolescent arrogance set aside. Intensity and desire present. But it wasn't so much their presence that caused Sophia's breath to catch in her throat, as the _way _he had looked at her then, and the way he was looking at her now. Like she was his world. His heart. His soul. Like there was no one else in the world that he wanted to be with. Sophia had never thought he would look at her that way in real life. And even though she had already admitted to loving him, had already given her body to him, there was still a part of her that was reluctant to trust him. That… little part that just wouldn't give it up. Call it self-preservation. Call it fear. But whatever it was, it was still a barrier between them. Not as much as it was in the beginning of their relationship, but…still present.

Luke reached out a hand and cupped his palm gently across her cheek. Feeling the silken skin under his fingers.

Sophia leaned into his hand and closed her eyes. Letting out a pent-up breath and with it all the tension she had been experiencing. 

As thunder rolled outside and the rain continued to pour down – the sound reverberating throughout the old house – Sophia suddenly realized that they were – indeed – alone in his home. A home that had seen the change of the times since the Pack had settled in Wolf Lake, and with it, the change of the leadership of them all. She suddenly wondered if this is where her ancestor and the last white wolf, Rianna, had lived with her mate. Lived… and loved. 

Sophia yanked herself back to the present. This was the first time her and Luke had been alone together since that incredible morning they had spent together. And despite the strain they had experienced for the last week, despite the threats to their species and to themselves, that desire – that **_need – _**was still present, and currently flaring out of control.

Luke watched carefully as he saw the emotions dancing across Sophia's easily read face. Saw the love, fear, doubt, confusion; but most of all… desire.

Later, Sophia would wonder who initiated the kiss. Whether she had moved into him first. Fists clenching in his shirt. Or if he had been the one; sweeping her into the curve of his body, fingers burying into her mass of hair, the other hand leaving a trail of flames licking across her skin as he traced it over her body. The lightest of caresses giving way to the headiest, most aching desire.

Sophia unsuccessfully tried to suppress a moan, as Luke's lips came over hers. Talented lips and tongue sweeping her away into an awakening world of erotic pleasure. Any hesitation she might have had about making love in his house was quickly swept away as he casually picked her up and carried her upstairs. His lips never leaving hers.

****** 

"What is it that you wanted to show us, Sherman?" Vivian asked for the third time in the last 20 minutes. She glared at the eclectic human sitting beside her in his ratty old vehicle. Matt was sprawled casually in the back seat. His posture insinuating a relaxation he wasn't feeling. He too, was wondering what this was about.

Sherman just sat there, pondering whatever it was that had caught his interest. Vivian's eyes narrowed as she prepared to launch another verbal attack. The Keeper's attitude was really starting to get on her nerves.

Matt didn't even try to suppress his grin over the frustration that was evident on Vivian's face. It wasn't often that he saw her riled up. It made him recall days long gone, when they were younger. Days spent in the shadows of the nights. Before Marie had stepped into his life, and he had stepped out of V's. 

Days he was starting to wish were in his possession again.

Before Vivian could open her mouth, Sherman suddenly tensed and beckoned towards the abandoned warehouse that they were parked away from by about 500 yards. Skinwalker vision being what it was, it wasn't difficult for them to recognize the small group that stepped out of the building. All were members of the Pack. All potential threats to Vivian's stability as the Alpha.

Vivian's body stilled as her gaze narrowed. Watching some of the members slink off into the bushes, while others went to cars they had parked a little distance away.

Matt slowly uncoiled himself from the back seat, as he sat up. Forearms resting tensely on his thighs as he too, watched the males leaving from their obviously pre-destined meeting house. His eyes shifted over towards Sherman. Mouth tightening into a firm line. He, above all others, knew what this meeting had been about, and he could feel the inner wolf rising close to the surface, demanding to be released in order to protect the woman that wasn't his mate, but was much more than just a friend of the past. 

Sherman looked from him to Vivian, who hadn't taken her gaze off what would most definitely be her challengers.

When her gaze finally shifted back to Sherman, her expression was calm. Almost serene, as she commented on the obvious. The words made into a statement, not a question.

"They're planning to kill me."

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "I Shall Believe", by Sheryl Crow  On the albums, "Roswell TV Series Soundtrack", and "Tuesday Night Music Club". I finally gave in and used this song, simply because it is one of the most beautiful love songs that I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. I still think it is one of THE love themes for Roswell, but I'm willing to borrow it for the next scene. And yes, the lyrics will be used throughout like a song fic thing.)

Sophia hadn't even realized that they had made it to Luke's room, till she felt the mattress covered in the sheets scented with his musk being pressed into her back as he carefully deposited her there. His body coming down aggressively on top of hers. At first she thought that that was going to be what would set the tone for their passion, but he surprised her when his hands suddenly gentled, and his kisses slowed. His fingers stroking and dipping into the curves of her body. Awakening her body with a burning intensity to be joined forever with him.

//Come to me now. And lay your hands over me. Even if it's a lie, say it will be alright, and I shall believe…//

His lips trailed down over her jaw line. Lower to pulse beating so rapidly beneath her skin. Sophia felt the heat from his mouth burning her like a brand, and she moved restlessly against him. Her body seeking out relief from the exquisite pressure building within. She had no idea that it was this possible to feel so strongly tuned into another person. Never thought she would _want _someone so desperately, that her mind could forget everything. No wonder John had never given up on finding Ruby. No wonder he was so willing to fight by her side.

//I'm broken in two. And I know you're on to me. That I only come home, when I'm so alone, but I do believe…//

The sharpness of her nails bit into Luke's back as his mouth trailed even lower still. Gently clasping over the small nipple already hard and waiting for his attention. Sophia's back arched under the onslaught, and all she could think was that she never wanted this to stop.

//…That not everything is gonna be the way you think it ought to be…//

Luke took the opportunity to slide his hand under the small of her back, helping her shed the unwanted article of clothing. Sophia responded in kind. Deftly urging his shirt up and off his sculpted frame. Muscles clenched and released in the pale light of his room. The sound of the rain pouring down outside almost deafening in the upstairs room.

//…It seems like every time I try to make it right it all comes down on me…//

Sophia took her time admiring the view. The tips of her fingers gently stroked over his skin. Feeling the smooth hard expanse of the portion of his body revealed to her. He knelt there, legs tucked underneath him with her legs wrapped loosely around his waist. Sophia smiled at the pleasure she saw reflected in his eyes as her hands explored the beauty of his body. He tossed back his head – the corded column of his throat revealed to her gaze.

//…Please say honestly you won't give up on me… And I shall believe…//

Sophia's fingers trailed down the centerline of his chest, till they met at his abdomen. She felt the way his body flinched at the innocent contact, and his head came back down to look at her. His normally pale green eyes were flaming golden fire, and the sight sent darts of that same fire flickering through her body in response to his hunger.

//Open the door, and show me your face tonight…// 

Sophia's hands came back up to clench firmly into his shoulders, guiding him down to her. He went willingly, his hands pushing away the fabric of her bra. Fingers deftly releasing the clasp. He briefly acknowledged the view of her crystal pendant up against the valley between her breasts. The sight of the fossilized bit of fire glowing there against her pale, delicate skin was erotic in its own right.

//I know it's true; no one heals me like you… And you hold the key...//

Sophia let out a hoarse cry as she felt her flesh come into contact with the heated skin of his chest. The sensation releasing one ache, while igniting another. Luke growled lightly in response, and his palms slide down her naked sides while his lips and silken tongue rasped over the sensitive skin of her breast. Pulling the aching tip deep into his mouth. The burning heat of that mouth sending shudders of pleasure through her that bordered on agony. She curved her face into his shoulder, where her lips mindlessly caressed the slightly salty taste of him.

//Never again, would I turn away from you. I'm so happy tonight, but your love is alright, and I do believe…//

Luke's hands encountered the waistband of her jeans, and slowly worked themselves around to the front. Sophia's body jerked slightly as she felt his hands brush over her aroused feminine core. Even through the clothing. Liquid heat erupted within her, her wild scent calling to him.

//…That not everything is gonna be the way you think it ought to be…//****

The sound of her zipper sliding down was well heard to them both, as his hands slide the cloth from her limbs. Taking along with it the scrap of lace that was considered to be underwear. Most would have found the sight of that black lace covering her most hidden part a turn on, but he was more interested in what was beneath that lace to give it a second thought.

Taking that moment to shed his own jeans, Sophia couldn't help but tremble at the sight of his arousal. He hadn't been wearing anything under those jeans, so there was nothing to hide his state from her. 

//…It seems like every time I try to make it right it all comes down on me...//

Luke's body came back over hers as he pressed more of his weight down into her. Her legs automatically sliding up and around his hips. Bringing him flush up against her. His lips met hers, gently urging her to open her mouth to him once more, and as she did so, she felt the hard thickness of him slide in deep. The burning heat from the joining raising a cry of ecstasy to her lips. At the same time, his tongue plunged into her mouth, mimicking the movements of his body deep within her as he drank of her.

//Please say… honestly you won't give up on me... And I shall believe…// 

Sophia pushed up against him as his body buried itself again and again within hers. Her thighs tightening their grip on his waist as he plunged deeper. His lips wreaking havoc upon her flushed skin. She could hear the thunder rolling outside, the increase in the rain pouring down upon the roof. She could feel her body tightening. Felt the waves of desire coming to sweep her away on their tide. Feeling his body pushing in deeper and deeper into hers, causing her body to flame and burst out of control. The full hit of her climax struck her hard, causing her to call out his name is such a way, that, if his own pleasure hadn't been brought on by the tightening of her sheath around him, the sound of his name on those lips in the midst of her earth shattering release, would have.

//That not everything is gonna be the way you think it ought to be… It seems like every time I try to make it right, it all comes down on me…//

Luke's hands stroked down to grasp the fullness of her thighs, pulling her up into him and her lower half off the bed as he buried himself deep within her again. The angle sending her reeling into another orgasm as he found his own. She watched through eyes clouded with passion as he shuddered within her. His head tossed back in complete abandonment as the sensations washed over him. His body upright but still buried deep within hers. 

It was a sight that Sophia would keep as a treasured memory for the rest of her life. It was a moment meant to be. A time when they came together in full awareness of each other, eternally bound by their love and passion… like the stars in the heavens, the fish in the sea, unable to exist long without the other. She was his; he was hers. As it had been meant to be since the beginning of their existence.

Their very world could fall apart, and they'd still be one. Forever joined. Forever connected. Forever loved.

Forever safe.

//Please say… honestly you won't give up on me… and I shall believe… I shall believe… I shall believe… I shall believe… I shall believe…//

****** 

"How did you know?" Vivian asked quietly as the silent Keeper drove off from the warehouse. Having not been detected by Vivian's enemies.

Sherman shook his head gently. "How do I know anything that goes on within the Pack and Wolf Lake? It's my job Vivian. Besides, regardless of the threat the Hunters bring, this has been coming for a long time. You knew they weren't going to put up with having a female as an Alpha for long." Sherman glanced rather pointedly at V before turning back to look at the road. The windshield wipers making a squeaking sound as the fought against the steady down pour of rain. "Not even for you."

Vivian leaned her forehead into her hand. Rubbing it tiredly. Her elbow rested on the doorframe as she watched the trees whirring past through the glass. Beads of moisture dancing across the surface in front of her eyes like tears. 

"So what else, Sherman?" She spoke up. Her voice sounding dead even to her own ears. "What else are we going to have to deal with?"

Sherman looked back over at her in sympathy. "That, I can honestly say, I do not have the answer to."

It was quiet for a little while as they made their way back to Sherman's house. It was already mid-afternoon, and because of the cloud cover, getting darker prematurely. The plan was for Sherman to go back to his house to continue his research and help keep watch over John and Ruby as their bodies finished mending. Matt and Vivian would continue searching for clues as to what the Hunters next move would be. They hated having to sit around, waiting for them to make the first move. The inactivity would grate on even the most level-headed Skinwalker. 

A frown suddenly formed upon Matt's brow as he sat forward. Remembering the lack of a certain face at that meeting.

"Why wasn't Tyler there?" Matt asked suspiciously. Looking first at Vivian, and then over at Sherman.

Sherman met his gaze through the rear-view mirror. "Who knows? Maybe the arrogant pup has finally decided to keep his tail between his legs while he licks his wounds from last night."

"Maybe," Matt mused. Not liking the fact that he didn't know what Tyler was up to.  "But doubtful."

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "Out Of My Mind" by Duran Duran on the album "The Saint Soundtrack".  I've always really loved this song, and I think that it does a very good job of describing what Matt is feeling towards Vivian, as well as his desire to be with her, but he's still fighting within himself. It's a very powerful song. I'm going to try to use it in the following scene as a song fic. Let me know what you think!)

After dropping Sherman off at his home, Vivian and Matt had ditched his offer to continuing using his car, and entered the surrounding forests of Wolf Lake on all fours, with thick luxurious pelts covering their backs.

//Light a candle… lay flowers at the door, for those you left behind and the ones who've gone before…//

They kept to the shadows. Their fur quickly soaked, but still providing a warm barrier against the chill of the late afternoon. They had spent the whole day fumbling in the darkness of having no knowledge to light their way. Having no idea where to start, where to go. Sherman had recommended that they look for any surveillance equipment placed in the forest. Any more traps carefully laid for unsuspecting members of their species. 

They searched for several hours, having found no suggestion to either devices. Dusk was starting to fall, and with it, their spirits. They were doing nothing but going around in circles, and like a dog chasing its tail, they were slowly going mad.

//Here it comes now, sure as silence follows rain…// 

Matt was the first to shudder out of his pelt. He watched passively as Vivian did the same, flinging her hair back as the raindrops cascaded down her body. Matt had to force himself to look away from the path being taken by one wayward bead of moisture, as it made its way down the centerline of her chest, over her stomach, and lower still…

//…the taste of you upon my lips, the fingers in my brain...//

Vivian watched him carefully from the corner of her eye. Knowing full well the effect she still had over him. Even after all these years.

//Ever gentle, as it kills me where I lay. Who am I to resist, who are you to fail?// 

"We're wasting our time." Matt growled out to make a point. Running his hands through his soaked hair in exasperation. Turning to observe the surrounding forest. His eyes cautiously searching out the shadows. 

"Well, then what are we supposed to do? Wait around at home till the Hunters start knocking on our front doors?" Vivian's snippy remark gave away more of her own frustration than she would have liked, and she looked away from his bemused glance. Her eyes restless as they searched the forest. Something just didn't seem right. At first, she had thought it was her imagination. But whatever it was, was becoming a small discordant note from within the hidden underbrush of the wilderness surrounding them. Some small foretelling that something bad was about to happen. Her eyes danced back over to Matt, and she could tell he felt it too. It was setting the both of them on edge. But again, they had no way of knowing what it was. And the fact that they were lacking that knowledge was disconcerting. 

Matt met her gaze and held it. Frustration evident. Frustration that he couldn't do anything more to help defend the Pack against their age-old enemy. Frustration because he couldn't protect her or his daughter the way that they needed to be protected… and something else... Frustration with himself. His desires.

//Got to get you out of my mind, but I can't escape from the feeling…// 

Later Vivian would think back on this moment and realize what a strange effect anxiety can have on a person, Skinwalker or not. Anxiety can make you forget everything but the moment at hand. Anxiety can make you set aside everything that you **_thought _**was important, and grasp up what you considered to be beyond your reach. 

Anxiety can help you remember how to live. And help you realize what you'd been missing out on.

And lately, Matthew Donner had been noticing that he was missing out on a lot.

//…As I try to leave the memory behind, without you what's left to believe in…?//

Vivian's breath caught as she witnessed an expression in Matt that she had never before seen, but had dreamt about seeing for years. When confronted with the real thing, she could feel her body start to tremble in response, and her eyes begin to glitter.

//It could be so sorry for the way it had to go, but now I feel your presence in a way I could not know…//

She held very still and waited. Waited for him to admit his feelings for her.

//And I wonder, do you ever feel the same? In whispering darkness do you ever hear my name?//

Matt stood there like some Greek statue. But instead of being made from stone or marble, he was a living, breathing specimen of beautiful Skinwalker male. Even though he was in his forties, his body was still smoothly muscled; his stomach flat and toned, his shoulders strong and his stance tall. Water running in rivulets down his body. This was the man that had been meant to rule the Skinwalkers. Who should be living in the Alpha's mansion. And yes… who should have been in her bed from the start.

//Got to get you out of my mind, but I can't escape from the feeling…// 

But that had all been a dream from such a long time ago, V tried to reason with herself. Trying to slow her erratic heartbeat.

Of course, Vivian had forgotten that there wouldn't be a point to dreams, if occasionally one didn't come true.

//As I try to leave the memory behind…without you what's left to believe in?// 

Matt clenched his hands at his sides as he continued to study Vivian. He had fought his attraction to her for so long now. Trying to hide from the rest of the Pack that although he had chosen to live as a human man, with a human wife, and half-human daughter; the heart that beat within his chest was that of a full-blooded Skinwalker male. A shapeshifter. A changeler. A hunter. 

A Wolf.

//…Here in the back of your mind, here in the back of your mind…//

After Marie had died, he had tried to be as normal as possible for his daughter. His promise to Marie to refrain from Changing, was what had made it necessary for him to distance himself as far away from Vivian as possible. Because she had always seen right through him. She had always known how he had longed to run in the forest as a wolf every night before going to his human bed in his human life. She had always known. And therein had lain the danger.

//And how could you dare to become so close so real, when you're just a ghost to me…?// 

She had tested him as no other Skinwalker ever had. Had challenged him on so many levels. And had rattled his resolve more than once to keep up his façade till Sophia's destiny had been revealed.

And once it had, there had been no need for him to continue with the restrictions he had applied to himself.

Returning to his wolf form had been the most exquisite feeling in his life. It had been like he'd been blind and given the gift of sight. Like he'd been away from home for so many years, and had finally returned. His heart beating in tune with the pounding of his paws.

But on the same token, he also realized that there was no need to continue his struggle against what he was feeling towards Vivian.

//And I've got to get you out of my mind, But I can't escape from the feeling…// 

He had loved Vivian when he was younger. Before Marie had walked into his life. Wolves mated for life, and he had chosen Marie to be his life partner. He hadn't been wrong in that choice. She had been his heart, his soul… the very air he had breathed.

But despite their love for each other and for the beautiful daughter, sometimes forever just wasn't in the cards.

He remembered what it had felt like to hold his dying mate in his arms. As her soul slipped free from its body, and she had been gone from him forever. Their connection severed. Bleeding and raw. He had never felt such grief. As such an advanced species in regards to senses, they were condemned to feel emotions ten times stronger than that of a human. It was a gift, as well as a curse.

He had raged for days and nights. Unable to cope with the loss. He had never thought the pain would end.

And although it never completely did; for the ache in his heart when he thought of his fragile but strong human wife was still very much present, that pain had eased. The agony slipping away like a thief in the night. As silent as when it had winged it's way in without any warning.

//…As I try to leave the memory behind…//

He couldn't bring Marie back. But he knew that if she could, she would tell him to be happy once more. She would have told him to stop torturing himself and get on with his life. He knew that, because Sophia was the same way. She had inherited from her mother her beauty, grace, femininity, courage, and purity of a selfless soul. 

And it was time for him to stop hating himself for something that had been beyond his control from day one, and finally be content with what was here… Now. In this place, and this time.

To be free.

//…Without you what's left to believe in…?//

Vivian saw the play of emotions cross his face as her heart thudded in her chest. She still waited. Her eyes cautious as her body held perfectly still as she waited for him to admit that he wanted her. Needed her. Would have her.

After a few minutes, Vivian blinked, her eyes glimmering with moisture as she took a hesitant step to the side. Not wanting to go closer to him in fear that he would reject her once again.

//Here in the back of your mind, deep in the back of your mind…// 

"Matt…" Vivian tone was slightly breathless. Slightly pleading. Emotions high and exposed raw in her expression.

Matt let out a pent up breath, and, still not saying anything, reached out a hand to her in the rain. Palm outstretched.

Vivian looked at it for a moment, before hesitantly placing hers in his. Watching his sculpted fingers wrap themselves around her slender hand. The warmth from them striking through her. She looked back up into his eyes, and upon seeing the openness in his eyes, filled with need – need for her – she smiled. The relief present in the sudden relaxation of her body, and the single tear that tracked its way down her cheek. How long had she waited for him to do this? How long had she wanted – no, **_needed _**– him to accept what she had offered him?

How long had she waited to see that acceptance in his eyes?

//Here in the back of your mind, deep in the back of your mind…// 

Matt pulled her closer her closer to thumb away for tear. Taking the moment to stroke the soft, suppleness of her skin. She looked up at him, eyes bright, and he realized that there was still plenty more to be said. But for right now, he was content with this beginning. For it was a beginning. A beginning of a new life with the two of them side by side.

Sometimes change was good. Other times… it was a miracle.

//Without you what's left to believe in…?// 

****** 

After a few moments of catching their breath, and getting their cloths back on, Sophia and Luke had made their way back down from the upstairs to the living room. Laughing and teasing each other the whole way. The rest of the world had fallen away, if only for an hour, as they gave in to the temptation to be in each other's arms as much as possible. This decision leading to more than one interesting debate on the luxuriously carpeted stairs. As well as on the couch… and quickly moved to the rug in front of the fireplace. 

Who ever said that debates were usually worthless?

****** 

Vivian had started to say something, when the sharp, jarring smell of smoke hit their nostrils. They both turned their heads in the direction it was coming. Senses alert as they realized something was wrong. It wasn't uncommon to smell smoke, especially during the winter, as people had fireplaces and bonfires going most of the time. But this smoke… this was what had been rubbing them the wrong way before they had gotten wrapped up in their feelings for each other. What had had them pacing back in forth in the rain in agitation. The one little thing that they hadn't quite been able to put their finger on.

Matt's jaw tightened as he knew, **_knew, _**that something was wrong. Quickly changing back into wolf form, he took off in the direction of the smell with Vivian quick on his heels. They made their way quickly through the forest, in a familiar direction that suddenly sent a sinking feeling into Matt's gut. The sight of smoke rising ahead of them didn't help matters any as he realized where it was coming from.

His and Sophia's house.

Both he and Vivian pulled to a stop at the edge of the tree line. Remaining hidden in the underbrush as they observed the scene. It was a good thing that Matt was in his wolf form, but, even so, he found it hard to suppress his boiling emotions.

Firemen were already trying desperately to put an end to the flames that engulfed the house. The house that he had raised Sophia in. The house that he and Marie had loved in. All those memories were currently going up in smoke as the fire greedily ate up the interior. Leaving nothing behind.

The fire reflected in both V and Matt's wolven eyes as they watched in stunned silence. The heat from the fire burning them from even across the street. That was one aspect of a fire that most people didn't realize. Unless confronted with the actual sight of a house going up in flames, you had no idea what the sound it made was like, or the feel of its heat radiating out from it as it tried to destroy your life. Your history.  The vacuum it became as it sucked up the surrounding air, or the yawning emptiness it left behind.

As they watched from the trees, Matt was hit with the certainty that this fire was no accident. This had been set by either a traitor or a Hunter. And it had been done with the purpose of, not so much getting to him, but as a distraction to keep him out of the way.

Out of **_their_** way when they hit their next target.

Even in wolf form, Matt could feel the blood pour from his face as he turned to look at Vivian. The shock in his eyes visible despite the skin he was wearing. Vivian looked back at him with dawning comprehension. They both took off at a breakneck speed as fast as their lithe bodies would carry them. Powerful limbs pumping as they shot through the forests. Using paths that only they knew of in a race to make it back to the Mansion.

Knowing that, even before Matt and Vivian could get out a warning call across the public mental path, that they were already too late. 

******   

Sophia didn't know how their attackers had managed to be upon them before they even had a chance to sense them. One minute they were wrestling seductively in front of the fireplace, hands stroking, and lips pressing into heated flesh. The next they were confronted with the sound of the front door being smashed inward. Shattering in its frame, ancient wood splintering apart. The glass in two of the large windows close to the door were smashed in as well. Pieces of glass tinkling against each other as they came crashing down in waves onto the hard-wood floor.

Sophia let out a cry as they both jumped to their feet. Luke going into a crouch in front of her. His body automatically shielding hers. Eyes flared in aggression as his body was flooded with adrenaline. Preparing to Change.

Dark clothed figures came through. Spilling into the entryway of the mansion. Bringing in the cold air and rain that sucked the warmth from the house as the sight of their weapons sent a chill into Sophia's heart.

Her hand reached out to grasp Luke's bare shoulder automatically as she shrank back. Her eyes swinging from one dark-clothed enemy to the next. Her senses opening up in an attempt to ascertain whether or not their attackers were human or Skinwalker. Underneath her fingers she could feel Luke's muscles tightening as his body prepared to shift.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A familiar voice spoke up coolly from the shadows of the mangled door as the person in possession of that voice stepped forward. Water trickling down his face, his clothes wet from the still-steadily falling rain. Thunder rolled darkly from the skies. The sound shockingly loud now that the house was open to the echoes. 

Sophia and Luke both felt as if they'd been doused with freezing water as they recognized the voice.

Tyler was smiling wickedly as he came forward into the light where they could see him. His unearthly good looks repugnant to Sophia as she shook her head slowly in denial. Not able to grasp the concept that one of their own had turned against them. For turned he had, as all his companions were human.

His comment had been pointed at Luke, having sensed the younger man was about to Change. As he beckoned towards Luke, one of the human attackers raised up his weapon and pulled the trigger. The sound explosive as Luke's body was flung backwards. Sophia heard screaming echoing in the living room, and realized dimly that it was her own.

Her mind and body going into shock, she could do nothing but stare at Luke as he fell back onto his side, his head hitting a corner of the fireplace. a large red stain of blood beginning to spread over the floor from the entry wound from the bullet. 

Bullet. Not a tranquilizer dart.

Sophia looked back up at Tyler, tears burning in her eyes as he cocked his head to the side, studying the fallen form of his Alpha's and former lover's son.

"No need to mess the place up anymore than it has to be." He looked around at his surroundings. His gaze thoughtful. "Although, granted, I was planning on redecorating it as soon as I had moved in. But now," he looked back over at Sophia, who was standing helplessly by the unconscious body of her mate. Her body aching to flip and then attack their attackers, but the sight of that gun pointed at her kept her from giving into that desire. Knowing she couldn't do anything to save Luke if she was dead.

"Now, I don't think I'll be sticking around in Wolf Lake much longer. As you know, the whole town is going to hell." Tyler chuckled as his eyes glanced back to Luke's half-nude form, and his eyes swung back up to travel up Sophia's body. Taking note that her blouse was only partially buttoned. Revealing the valley between her breasts, and an odd colored crystal point dangling against her pale skin. Water had begun pouring into the house through the open windows and gaping door, and the puddle expanded to where she stood. Mingling with the pool of blood on the hard wood surface, and surrounding her bare feet.

Sophia felt her stomach recoil from the crude expression on Tyler's face, and she tilted her head up, daring him to turn away from her frigid gaze. Her hands clenched, unnoticed at her sides. Nails burying into her palms. Breaking the skin, and sending blood oozing out between her white fingers. Lightening struck close outside. The sound shocking, but she never once flinched.

Tyler tilted his head to the side once again. Amused at the defiance he saw in the young woman's tightly restrained body. He took in the appearance of the blood splatter on her cloths from the pup at her feet, his body becoming soaked with a mixture of crimson and water, and the cruel laughter in his voice was apparent as he taunted her. Thunder rolling in the distance. Echoing his words.

"I didn't interrupt something, did I?"

****** 

Sherman groaned as he sat up in his chair. Running his fingers tiredly through his hair as he surveyed the documents in front of him. It was nothing but a jumbled mess of papers and useless scrolls. He had been unable to find anything that might help in their fight against the Hunters. He had no idea where to even begin looking.

Sighing, he rose from his chair and made his way into the kitchen, pouring himself something to drink. Listening to the soothing sound of the rain falling outside, unaccompanied by thunder. It didn't help matters that he hadn't had any sleep last night, and very little the following nights before then. He would have to get some major shut-eye tonight, if he expected to continue helping the Pack tomorrow. 

As he made his way to the hall closet to pull out an extra blanket and pillow, he smiled as he heard the sound of soft feminine laughter coming from the bedroom, followed by the sound of low male chuckles from John.

Sherman shook his head wryly as he made his way back into the living room, tossing the pillow and blanket in the general direction of the couch. At least those two had been one thing he'd done right. They'd been destined to be mates from the time they had been borne, but had required a little bit of help getting to that point. He couldn't suppress his feeling of pride as he acknowledged how well everything had fallen into place with those two. And he knew that now that they were together, it was going to take a hell of a lot more than any threat of the extinction of their species to separate them. The bond they shared was rare. But it was everlasting.

It was also a bond shared by the younger white wolf and her chosen mate. 

Now, those two had had a rough road, and the one stretching out in front of them wasn't going to all that smooth either. He hadn't assisted with their relationship like he had with John and Ruby, simply because they had needed to figure it out on their own. As it was, it wasn't like one of those two hadn't been aware of Wolf Lake's secrets, or had been separated from the other. They had grown up together in this small little town. Born for each other, but fighting it every step of the way.

It had amused him to watch those two. Knowing that bad-boy Luke would one day have to admit how he felt for the good-girl half-breed. It had been an interesting show. And it had all turned out well in the end. Although he still wasn't sure if Matt still didn't plan on beating the bloody pulp out of the boy to relieve his tension in regards to their relationship at some later future. 

Sherman chuckled again. Luke had chosen one hell of a father-in-law, so to speak. And one who was probably going to soon be his step-father if the Pack managed to survive that long. 

And he prayed that they would, simply because that would be too much fun to miss. 

He finished his drink, and then went to make up his temporary bed on the couch. Content to remain there tonight, while Ruby and John made use of their privacy in the bedroom. Both of their wounds were healing wonderfully. And in a couple more days, they'd be almost as good as new.

As Sherman got ready to go to bed, he noticed that something had changed. Something wasn't right.

It took him a moment to realize what it was that was bothering him. After having rained all day, the suddenness of its passing had startled him. It seemed like the rain had finally stopped.

Shaking his head at his own paranoia, Sherman stifled a yawn as he turned out the remaining lights in the hallway, kitchen, and living room. Plunging the house into darkness.

He settled himself in on the couch and let out a pent-up breath. Closing his eyes wearily as his exhausted body started to fall asleep.

Suddenly, Sherman's eyes jerked back open, and he shot up in the bed. A gut-wrenching suspicion hitting him low and hard. 

Jumping off the couch, uncaring as to how he had knocked his blanket and pillow off the cushions to land on the floor, he padded over slowly to his front door. His hand hesitantly going to the knob.

Leaning his forehead against the hard wood, he tried to collect himself. Finally bringing himself to unlock it, he turned the knob, opened the door, and stepped out onto the porch. Uncaring as his bare feet made light splashing sounds in the poured concrete as he made his way to the edge.

Not even glancing up, he started down the brick steps, and stepped out onto the grass of his front lawn. His feet slapping in the soaked grass and mud.

As he came to a stop, he took in a deep breath, looked up at the sky… and waited. Already knowing in his heart the sight that would await him.

The rain clouds were slowly but surely dissipating. Leaving behind small glimpses of stars glowing overhead. But that wasn't what Sherman was staring at. He was staring at the moon as it appeared to slowly slink out from behind the remaining cloud cover. Shining down at him. Sherman felt a chill trace its way down his spine, and he shuddered, pulling his gaze away from it, to look down at the ground. But even there he couldn't escape the sight, as the puddle at his bare feet reflected the sight of the full moon above. Finally revealed in the dark, after the sky had been thick with rain clouds all day. Glowing obscenely.

Obscene, because it didn't glow it's normal pure white light of magic and mystery, cast  upon the surrounding forests of Wolf Lake. Lighting up the trees and chasing the shadows across the open fields. Dancing in the surface of the lake, as it glittered like a diamond.

No. Tonight it wasn't that moon…it wasn't even pale… but one of crimson. Flooding Sherman's surroundings and Wolf Lake in its fearful light. 

It made the forests look like hell, and the trees its demons. 

It turned the open fields that were once a place of beauty, into yawning empty spaces of terror and fear. 

And it made the once sparkling diamond waters of Wolf Lake, look like a lake running thick with crimson blood. 

Sherman had to force himself to look away from the puddle at his feet, for, the reflection was making it look like one of blood. He tilted his head up to look at the evil proof of the terrors now facing the Pack, and the single tear that rolled down his weathered cheek was the first time that he could ever recall having cried. 

It glistened red on his skin as it trailed down lower, finally sliding off his face, to splash into that crimson reflection of a moon at his feet.

******

**In the age of the Blood Moon, when its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors, and the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor… the form of the white wolf will appear once again… But to battle the oncoming Darkness, its soul will reside… not in the shell of One… but in that of Two…**

********************************************** 

TBC Soon in Chapter Eleven, Ep. 19 – "The Prophecy"

I'm evil, I know. (rolling eyes and pointing to my Muse – *blame him, _he's _the one who did it! Not me!*) (And yes, I'm beginning to think mine is male. Go figure.) Don't forget to review! Please? Pretty Please?! Pretty Please, with sugar on top?!!! 

If nothing else, you can bash my male Muse! I may even join you! (laughing) 


	11. Ep 19, The Prophecy, Part One

Chapter Eleven, Ep. 19 – "The Prophecy : Part One" 

Author's Note – IMPORTANT INFO!!! (But before we get to that, tell me… how much do you love me for turning this chapter out so early?! LOL) 

I would like to proudly announce that this series will have a new home with the Phoenix Virtual Television, www.pvtonline.com  Come January (depending on when this series gets finished.) 

The runner of the site contacted me a couple of weeks ago, informing me that he would like to re-air the "episodes" on a weekly basis, starting with chapter one (or ep. 10) and releasing the following chapters each Tuesday night. It will be paired with the "Dark Angel Virtual Series" (VS 3 has almost been finished, and I'm sure it will follow with a VS 4) of which I've been informed is their most popular series (which basically means I'm getting the best slot of the week! *squealing and jumping up and down*) It's already been mentioned in the Upload/Update section, so you can monitor the progress towards getting it set up there.

I'm very happy about this opportunity for my series, and even though it will still be available here at ff.net, I'm hoping you guys will check in on it at this site. A page will be 

Constructed for it and everything, and I'm just tickled pink to have had this series selected. (Yet another squeal)

Don't forget to check out this site, it has a fairly large collection of virtual series, both based on actual tv series that have been cancelled, and original ideas. Most of which I think are really good.

Anyway, I guess I wasn't anybody's favorite person with the ending of that last chapter, huh? Well then… hopefully this one will redeem myself. (wink) 

***

Summery – As Luke's life hangs in the balance, Sophia struggles against her fear that she might lose him. Even after all they've been through, all they've shared, their connection just might yet be severed by forces neither one of them can fight. As Sophia fights to remain strong in the face of her enemies, Ruby's hidden ability as a white wolf will finally awaken…

~~~

_In the age of the Blood Moon, when its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors, and the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor… the form of the white wolf will appear once again… But to battle the oncoming Darkness, its soul will reside… not in the shell of One… but in that of Two…_

~~~

Sophia couldn't fight, couldn't speak. Could barely walk as Tyler came forward, grasped her tightly by the arm, and escorted out of the false security of the mansion, into the freezing, moist darkness of the soulless night. The cold rain soaking through her clothes and plastering them to her body. What had once been a place of beauty and magic, was as black and forbidding as the feeling of fear stealing across her heart. She felt the bits of shattered glass cutting into the soles of her bare feet, but strangely, she didn't feel the pain.

She didn't turn to look behind her. Didn't turn to look at the crumpled, unconscious body of Luke, lying in that mixture of rainwater and blood. Knowing that if she did, she's break down into a screaming, wailing mess on the floor. She couldn't do that, not with Tyler gripping her arm so hard that she feared he'd snap the bone.

No, if she was going to help Luke, she had to keep it together. Send out a mental call for help. Maybe a Skinwalker in the area would be close by and could–

Tyler's hand twisted harshly upon her skin, causing Sophia to light out a small cry. If she had been a human, he would have succeeded in shattering the bone. As it was, he was crushing it with his inhuman strength. She could hear the tendons grinding from the pressure, as agony went shooting up her arm. It accomplished what Tyler had wanted though. It had made her forget momentarily the call she needed to send out.

"I wouldn't try to call anyone for help, Sophia." He pointed out cheerfully, smiling down at her. Uncaring at the tears of hatred glistening in her lashes. "I would know the second you did, and I'd sure as hell **_hate _**to send one of the boys back in there to put a bullet in your lover's brain, just to finish the job."

Sophia's eyes narrowed as she realized that he wasn't bluffing. Luke's death would have already been assured, if it weren't for Tyler wanting to keep her submissive and under control. He had planned this well. 

"You must be so proud." she gritted out between her teeth, as they started to walk deeper into the woods, rain still steadily coming down. Leaving behind the familiarity of the mansion. She tried her best to suppress her trembling as the cold rain began to steal away her body heat. Not even bothering to try and regulate her body temperature like all Skinwalkers could do. Right now, that would take more concentration than she was willing to give. 

Tyler looked over at her, almost as if they were discussing the currently hostile weather. His cool gaze wandering over the front of her shirt where the rain had made the fabric transparent and was revealing her young form. "Hmm? Of what?"

Sophia looked up to glare coldly at him. "You've hit an all new record of the worst slime to ever exist in the Pack."

Tyler chuckled as his grip tightened in reprimand on her arm. His grip cutting off the circulation. Causing her entire limb to go numb.

His dry chuckle sent a chill down her spine. "I doubt that, but I'll take that as a compliment, my dear."

Never had Sophia wanted to kill someone as badly as she wanted to in that moment. But she knew that, despite her abilities of a white wolf, there was no way she could take Tyler down. He was nothing if he wasn't a full-blooded male Skinwalker, and a female, regardless of color, couldn't hope to overtake a male **_if _**he was expecting it. Even her ancestor, Rianna, the last white wolf in their history, had been guarded by her mate in order to continue as the Alpha of the Pack, as was her destiny at that time. Even she had had to rely on male muscle to keep her safe from those that would overthrow her.

If Ruby, who was older and definitely stronger, hadn't been able to take Tyler down, then what chance did she have against him? And then there were the six human but heavily armed Hunters also tagging along. All with their weapons aimed casually at her. Watching her every move.

She felt like screaming out in denial of this turn of events. It didn't sit well with her that she was so damn powerless at the moment. She might as well be the half-breed the town had her named for, seeing as how, in one terrifying moment, she had lost to this back stabbing traitor. Her abilities as a Skinwalker and white female might just have well been stripped away from her, for all the good they served her in this moment.

Instead, Sophia directed her hatred towards thinking her way through this situation. Obviously this hit had been meant for her, and only her, as they hadn't even bothered to give Luke a second thought as he lay bleeding on the hard-wood floor. Possibly dying. 

This was a scary but successful amount of determination focused on her.

And she could only come to the conclusion that the only reason the Hunters were interested in a small teenage girl, was because they knew of her significance to the Pack.

And if they knew that, then they knew about her part in her people's prophecy… and her specified destiny as being one of their guardians, protectors… savior.

Obviously, they wouldn't want her to act on that destiny.

"So, is this what it has come to, Tyler?" Sophia spat out, catching herself when she stumbled on an exposed root. Not letting herself fall, simply because she knew if she did, he would gain too much enjoyment out of dragging her through the mud. "Betraying your own?"

Tyler shrugged. "What can I say? This whole town's perspective on the way things need to be done has grated on my nerves for some time. I do not think I owe them any loyalty – or you, for that matter – simply because we came from the same gene pool."

Sophia's gaze shot daggers at his obvious lack of guilt for betraying his Pack. "And what about Ruby, hmm? Are you going to turn your back on her too?"

Tyler's casual façade slipped for a moment, and Sophia caught a glimpse of the dangerous, cold-blooded wolf within, and it made her all too aware of her dangerous predicament. If he would have Luke shot, see the entire Pack destroyed, then he wouldn't hesitate to kill her. Here and now, in these woods… if so provoked.

Having caught the sudden scent of her fear, Tyler smiled cruelly, turning her body towards him, staring down at her coldly. Changing tactics. They had come upon a black van parked discreetly at the edge of the woods, as Tyler pulled her to a stop.

"Oh, don't worry. I have orders to bring you in, all in one piece. There are some people that are looking forward to making your acquaintance." He casually reached up to push a lock of hair away from Sophia's cheek. Causing her to shudder in disgust from the hideous contact. Tyler dropped his hand from her face. Taking the opportunity to brush his knuckles down the exposed skin of her throat… and further down the exposed valley between her breasts. Causing Sophia to feel sick to her stomach. She hadn't put a bra on after her and Luke had…

Again, she clenched her fist. Burying nails into the already torn flesh.

" 'Course," he contemplated softly, his gaze wandering down over her tensely held body. "Anything can happen in **_these _**woods." Sophia heard the van's door slide open, but she didn't dare to turn away from Tyler. Her eyes grew cold, even though inside she was screaming out in denial as Tyler's hand trailed to the side to cup her bare breast through the thin wet material of her shirt. His gaze calculating as he observed the hatred blazing from her gaze. Reminding him of another…

"Take your hand off me." Sophia spat out quietly. The growl in her throat rumbling through her words. Every bit the white female that she was. She stood her ground, not moving. But not submitting. The harsh lines of her stance stating her defiance. Her eyes demanding respect. She would not give in to his determination to see her cower in front of him. She might not have been so successful if it hadn't been for the fact that her senses discerned the truth. Despite his attempts to break her, there was no desire in his body for her. Despite what he was insinuating to her.

No, domination and humiliating her was all this was about. It was an opportunity that he couldn't pass up, and showed just how callous he could be. He was mocking not only the Pack, but also her position and value within it. Giving her no more respect than he would yet another piece of tail.

Sophia tilted her chin up as Tyler leaned in closer. His hand tightening painfully on her unprotected flesh. The rain began to slow, then stop. But it still didn't do anything for her, as her clothes were already dripping and hung heavy on her body. Her dark hair hanging down in soaked locks, some plastered around her face. She knew he could see as well as feel the lines of her body – nipples taut and dark against her pale skin from the cold – through her now-sheer clothing, and she couldn't recall a time where she felt more unclean. But she'd be damned before she'd let him see any more fear in her eyes.

"And why should I?" He taunted her. "I doubt that pup has performed well for you. Maybe I would be better suited to – "

"No." Sophia's calmly spoken word of authority gave Tyler pause. He raised his eyebrow at the authority in her voice.

"Excuse me?" He asked, amusement flickering across his eyes. Yes, she was very much like Ruby. It could have been her that stared out at him with those glittering eyes.

"You heard me." Her gaze never wavered.

Tyler cocked his head to the side as he studied her. "Hmm. Yes, I suppose you're entitled to your own opinion. But at the same time, you don't strike me as the kind to break under pressure. It might just be very interesting to see just how defiant you'd be with a real wolf between your thighs."

With those words, he firmly pinched her nipple between thumb and forefinger… and was rewarded with the slash of her claws across his cheek. The force of her hatred knocking his head to the side.

Tyler slowly turned back towards Sophia. His eyes flickering for a moment dangerously. Four furrows were cut deeply across his right cheek, but he seemed unaware of the blood trickling down his face. His hand was still wrapped around her breast in restraint as he leaned closer. A snarl of intimidation twisting his lips.

"Unless you want me to finish this…" With sudden force, he released the tender flesh, picked her up, and slammed her unceremoniously into the van. Her back smacking hard on the interior wall as she slide to the floorboards. A dent left from the impact above her. She crouched on all fours, careful to keep pressure off her bruised upper arm. Glaring at Tyler through the fall of her hair, eyes glowing venomously.

"You will do well to keep your comments to yourself." Tyler chuckled as he rubbed the back of his hand gingerly across his cheek. "Let's see if that inner fire of yours survives whatever the Hunters have planned for you." He beckoned at four of the men to climb in with her. 

"Don't take your eyes off her." he cautioned, watching them climb in. He smirked at Sophia, as he shot another warning to the men, "But keep your hands off," He looked down at the back of his hand stained in his own blood. "She's rabid."

Sophia tossed her head up regally. Eyes frosted as she bared her teeth at him.

Tyler laughed at her expression, and started to say something else, when they were both hit with a hard mental call from both Vivian and Matt. Sophia's eyes widened as she realized that it was a warning to her and Luke. A warning that had come too late. 

It was also a call for any Skinwalkers in the vicinity of the Mansion to head there immediately to lend protection towards their Alpha's son, and one of the white females of their species.

Tyler gaze shot to Sophia's sharply. He held up a hand, extending a finger, and shook it cautiously at her. His jaw tightening.

"Not one word, do you understand? Or Luke will be dead long before any of them will be able to help him."

With those words, he slid the door of the van closed. Sealing out the night. Sophia had the sudden hope that he wouldn't be going with her, but even that small chance of victory was denied to her when saw him climb into the front passenger seat. No doubt going along to keep her in line… and make sure she didn't call out for help.

Sophia tried to keep herself from panicking as she tried to think her way through this. Keeping her eyes away from the group of formidable Hunters with their weapons pointed at her. She could sense their eyes traveling over her body hungrily, and sensed their arousal. But even knowing they wouldn't touch her, she couldn't help the shudder that went through her.  

She couldn't send a call on the public mental line of her people, because then Tyler would hear, and she wasn't going to risk him going back to kill Luke. Even if he was most assuredly dying now. Maybe already dead.

_No! _A scream echoed in her head. He couldn't be dead. He couldn't. She'd know if he was. That was just her weakness talking. Their connection was still strong, even though she couldn't reach him on their private mental link. He'd hit his head hard on the corner of the fireplace… that had to be the reason why he was unconscious. Why he couldn't answer her calls.

No, she couldn't give in to doubt right now. She had to believe that he would live. She had to do anything she could to save him.

Suddenly, it clicked with her. Tyler didn't know about the private mental link she had formed with Ruby. She herself hadn't known about it till yesterday. It wasn't something he would expect. He knew that private links could be created between mates, which is probably the main reason why he had had Luke shot. But he never would have guessed that one had been formed between her and Ruby. 

And with that in mind, she closed her eyes and concentrated at grasping upon that thin silver filament that connected one white female to the other…

****** 

Ruby stretched sinuously underneath the warm down comfort. Curving her body into John's sleeping one. Even in his rest, his arm came around her waist and pulled her closer. His lips curving slightly as she snuggled in closer. Letting out a contented sigh against the warmth of his neck.

They had spent the whole day at Sherman's, recuperating. And although they hadn't liked being cooped up while everyone else had spent the day trying to figure out the plans of the Hunters, they knew that they hadn't had a choice in the matter. The quicker their wounds healed, the faster they'd be able to help. They wouldn't be any good in another attack if they were still messed up from the last one.

So they had stayed put. Helping when they could with going over some of Sherman's documents, but mostly trying to make as much use of the rest that they had. 

It had been one hell of a week.

Ruby closed her eyes as she listened to the patter of the rain on the roof as it started to slow, and then ended. She heard the front door open, and jerked her head up, alert, listening cautiously. Wolven hearing seeking out the source of the sound. She relaxed when she heard that it was Sherman's pacing that went outside. Not that of an intruder coming in.

She shook her head wryly and let it sink back into the down pillow. Body fully relaxing as she fell asleep, her limbs entwined with those of her mate's. Listening to the sound of the grandfather clock ticking gently in the hallway.

Quiet descended over the house. The sudden silence of the rain disconcerting after having its downpour for the last 24 hours.

Suddenly, Ruby shot up straight in bed. The last traces of sleep fleeing as her eyes became alert and glowing. Her sudden movement and gasp immediately awakening John.

Quickly sitting up, his hands came to rest on Ruby's shoulders. His concern visible.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

Ruby braced herself up on the mattress, the glow of her eyes intensifying as she looked over at John. The sight of her inhumanely beautiful in the darkness of the room.

John sensed her body already preparing to Change, and his concern grew. Something was very, very wrong.

"Sophia and Luke are in trouble."

****** 

By the time that Vivian and Matt arrived at the mansion, they knew they had been too late. 

The front of the house almost looked like it had been blown in. The front door was wrecked. Hanging haphazardly by the bottom hinge. The frame laying in pieces. The windows had been shattered. Letting wind and the rain from the storm intrude within.

As they ran up the front steps, both of them shed their wolven pelts simultaneously, leaping over the thousands of pieces of glass that littered the entryway.

Matt senses immediately discerned that Sophia was no longer anywhere in the house. A cry of denial rose in his throat, but he stifled it, as he recognized instantaneously the heavy scent of blood wafting to them from the living room.

Turning towards the entrance to the living room, he was confronted with the sight of Luke sprawled out on his back in front of the fireplace. Unconscious, with blood and water surrounding him in a large puddle. Shawn, having heard the mental cry they had sent out just moments before, had come as quickly as he could. He looked up at Vivian and Matt, and the relief in his worried eyes was visible. His palm was pressed tightly over the wound. Trying to staunch the blood flow. He looked down at Luke's chest, and then back to the two. His eyes distraught. Frosted hair hanging down over his forehead.

"The bleeding won't quit. I can't stop it."

Vivian was there before Matt had even crossed the threshold. And almost knocked Shawn out of the way in her haste to get to Luke's side. Shawn but as much distance between him and his Alpha, while still keeping his palm locked over the opening in Luke's chest.

"Luke?" Vivian questioned frantically as she tilted his head towards her. Begging for some response. She saw the matt of blood coating the side of his head, and realized that he had been knocked unconscious. "Oh god, please…" Vivian prayed breathlessly, as she tried to reach out to Luke, both through mental pathway, as well as vocally.

"Luke! Come on, baby. You need to open your eyes." Vivian looked around her frantically, and then took over for the younger boy as she ordered him to go find some towels and bring them here.

Shawn gave up his grip on the wound as Vivian pressed her palm over it. The gush of blood coating her trembling fingers before she could press down hard enough to slow it down.

Matt grabbed the towels from Shawn as the boy came back into the room. Making it to Vivian's side, he forcibly pulled Vivian away and took over. His strength pressing in hard over the gunshot. He didn't like how pale Luke was.

"Shawn, did you see anything?" he asked harshly, looking over at Luke's friend.

He shook his head quickly. "No, I was out running when I heard your warning, and I made it over here as quickly as possible. When I got here, I found Luke like this," he beckoned towards the unconscious form. 

"Damn it!" Matt hissed, looking up at Vivian. "We should have seen this coming!" Matt's eyes were just as tormented as Vivian's. The fear in the back of his mind wouldn't go away, and the questions that were running through his mind were not that of wondering who or why had Sophia had been taken, but where she was. That and his desperate need to find her.

Shawn ran a bloody hand through his hair; oblivious to the crimson streaks he had just placed in it. "When I arrived, Sophia wasn't here. Do you think they have her?"

Vivian met the tortured look in Matt's eyes with one of her own. She would have liked to tell him that everything was going to be alright, but right now, her duty as an Alpha to reassure other members of her Pack had flown out the window when she had seen her son lying here. At this moment, her and Matt were no different than any other parent would be with the knowledge that their children had been marked for death.

She looked away and sent an order to Shawn. "You need to go in the hallway and call Sherman. Tell him what's happened and tell he needs to come ri–"

"Don't bother." A voice spoke up from the hallway as Ruby and John ran into the living room. Both naked from the Change back into human form. The still healing wounds visible in her thigh and his shoulder. "Sherman is already on his way."

Ruby quickly strode over to Luke's side and dropped down, studying her half-brother's pale countenance. Her lips pressed hard together as she looked down at the wound. It had missed his heart, but he would bleed to death if they didn't do something soon.

Vivian looked down at the soaked towel in Matt's hand and started to shake. "Why isn't the bleeding stopping?"

Matt shook his head slowly. Sweat starting to bead on his forehead. "I don't know."

"Silver." Ruby whispered slowly. Instinctively sensing what the bullet had been made of.

"That's just a myth!" Vivian looked at Ruby in reprimand. "Silver doesn't have an affect on our people! Not like this!"

Ruby's jaw tightened in frustration. "Apparently whatever form of silver **_they're_** using does." She didn't know how she knew this, heaven knew she had never studied silver, but she knew it was true. Whatever type the Hunters had used on her brother, was causing a poison to spread through the entry wound. Making him unable to heal in the way of their kind.

"Ruby, do you know if So–"

Ruby cut Matt off, knowing what he was trying to ask. "She's alive, Matt. She contacted me on our mental path and told me what happened. It was the Hunters." She looked up to meet Matt's stressed expression. **_"Tyler,"_** her voice hissed over the mention of his name,  "was apparently in charge of the hit."

Matt and Vivian both stilled for a spilt second as they allowed this new knowledge to sink in. Matt's gaze became murderous. Eyes flickering bright yellow as his entire body tensed over that of his daughter's mate. Even Ruby leaned back a little when she sensed the utter black **_rage _**emitting from this man that she, in some ways, viewed as a father. She knew then and there, that somewhere, sometime… Tyler was going to die. No matter what happened to the Pack between now and then.

Vivian let out a hiss as she looked down at her son. She clenched her hands at her sides, literally trembling with the hatred for the man that had once been her lover, and Ruby reevaluated her premonition. 

Correction. Tyler wasn't going to live through the next 48 hours.

****** 

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "1,000 Oceans" by "Tori Amos" on the album To Venus And Back I think this is probably one of the best songs that Tori sings, and is a guaranteed tear jerker. I love this song, and I think it fits with what Sophia is feeling at the moment. This won't really be a song fic, but I will insert four separate lines from the chorus verse, which grasp the overall meaning of the piece…)

/These tears I've cried… I've cried, a thousand oceans…/ 

'How is he?' Sophia asked Ruby across their mind-link. Trying to keep from panicking. She curled up in the corner of the van, as far away from the two men as she could. She kept her face down and averted, so they wouldn't suspect anything. 

Ruby's reply came immediately. Her words frank. Knowing that if the situation were reversed, she'd want Sophia to be honest.

'It's bad, Sophia. He's still unconscious from where he hit his head. The bullet missed his heart, but… it's made out of some type of silver. Apparently a form of the mineral that **_is _**dangerous to our kind. Sherman's coming to help… but I just don't know. I just don't know…'

Sophia's face tightened as she tried to keep the tears back. Choking on the cry of pain trying to force its way out of her throat. She clenched her eyes tightly shut. They burned with her emotion. If Luke's body couldn't heal because of what the bullet was made out of, then the bleeding wasn't going to stop. And it wasn't like he was human, as to where they could take him to a hospital. Sherman was the only one that might be able to do something, but if he didn't get there soon…

On the outside, no one would have been able to tell anything by the emotionless shell Sophia had become.

On the inside, she was screaming.

/…And if it seems I'm floating in the darkness…well… I can't believe I would keep you from flying…/

'Sophia, don't! You have to be strong! Do you know where you are?' Ruby had been flooded with the overflow of Sophia's emotions, and she needed the younger girl to get her emotions under control, for the both of them.

Sophia struggled to get herself back together. Quickly brushing off a wayward tear that had tracked its way down her cheek before her captors could see it. Her small body trembled slightly, but not from the cold.

'No. Currently we're in route to wherever it is they're taking me. Tyler said something about some **_people _**that wanted to meet me.' Sophia finished that last part dryly. The knowledge of what was awaiting her wasn't going to be pleasant sitting heavily in her stomach. 

It didn't take Ruby long to come to this conclusion either. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

Sophia suddenly jerked upright warily as the van slowed down and turned onto a gravel road. Knowing that they were close to wherever it was that she was being taken.

Having locked so tightly onto the private mental link that they shared, Ruby took that knowledge from Sophia's mind, along with the sense of rising panic in her brother's mate, and she was determined to find out anything she could about where Sophia had been taken.

'Do you recognize where you are? What road you're on?'

'There aren't any windows in the van.'

'Then don't use your sight. Use your hearing.'

Sophia closed her eyes obediently and cranked the internal volume of her wolven hearing to full strength. The sound of the vehicle she was riding in causing her head to throb. But she was able to, despite the sound overload, to recognize the sound of water sloshing and slapping gently, rhythmically against the shore.

'I'm close to the lake. Very close. I can hear it nearby.'

'Anything else?'

Sophia squeezed her eye shut tighter, and had to catch herself before physically shaking her head no.

'Okay then. Keep this mind-link open the whole time so I can monitor your surroundings once you're out of the van, and we'll be on our way as soon as possible.'

This time, Sophia did shake her head minutely. 'Not until Luke is out of danger.'

'Sophia…'

'I'm not going to argue with you, Ruby. Take care of him!'

'Don't worry. We're doing everything we can.'

Sophia caught her breath as the black van made another turn into what was probably a driveway, and slide to a silent stop. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest, as a knot formed in her throat. She heard Tyler get out of the front, and come around to the side. His pace unhurried, leisurely, as if he was just on a typical outing. Of course, for him, kidnapping girls probably **_was _**a typical evening.

As he slid open the door of the van, Sophia sent one last thought to Ruby.

'Don't let anything happen to him, Ruby.' her tone was pleading, even through their mind-link. The sound causing Ruby to blink her eyes rapidly against the pain in the younger girl's voice. 'Please save him. I can endure anything they throw at me. So long as I know he's okay…'

/I'm aware of what the rules are… but you know that I will follow you, over silbury hill, and through the solar field… You know that I will follow you…/

'You're not alone, Sophia. I'll be there with you every step of the way. And we **_will_** get you out of there.'

Sophia took a deep steadying breath before calmly facing Tyler as he beckoned her out of the van. Strangely quiet. 

"I still don't understand, Tyler." Sophia commented as she stepped down. Tyler again grasping her arm. She flinched slightly at the contact of his fingers around her bruised flesh, but this time, he was careful not to apply any pressure. So long as she kept up with him. Her bare feet stumbled slightly as the gravel cut into the already slashed soles. They were walking to a strange building that she didn't recall having seen before. Ruby had sunk back into a corner of her mind, but her presence was still a soothing balm on Sophia's fraying nerves as she kept pace with her abductor and traitor.

"What's in this for you? How are you going to benefit from all this?"

Tyler scowled at her. "I benefit by not having to put up anymore with Vivian, or Sherman, or all the rest of you that have chosen to ignore our species calling. Instead, I will finally be rid of this place, and the Hunters will turn a blind eye to my leaving."

Sophia scoffed. "And you honestly believe them?" she asked disbelievingly.

Tyler's grip tightened slightly. Causing her to wince again. "I'll be gone long before they could even try to change their minds."

"Then why didn't you leave a long time ago?" Sophia asked. Making use of his momentary distraction to survey her surroundings. She had grown up in this town, had thought she'd been over every inch of it at least a dozen times. But this was one place that she couldn't remember having ever seen before. She just hoped that Ruby was getting all of this, in the hopes that she'd have a better recollection of the location.

Tyler chuckled. "And miss the opportunity to see all of you who stood in my way destroyed? Never. I'm not one to pass up such a good show. Especially in these parts."

They came to a door in the side of the building, and Tyler knocked on it, waiting for someone on the other side to open. The more Sophia looked at the building, the more it resembled an old, but small version of a warehouse, yet still in very good condition. As if it was still in use. It didn't make any sense. She knew she was still in Wolf Lake, because the actual Lake was less then two hundred yards away. This building overlooked it from where it was nestled in the tree line. And the lake reflected the image of–

Sophia did a double take of the reflection. Unable to believe her eyes. This time, she didn't even bother suppressing the cry of shock that raised to her lips. If Tyler hadn't been holding her so securely, she knew she that her legs would have given out from underneath her at the sight.

The lake was reflecting a full, but bloody crimson colored moon hanging from the inky blackness of the night sky, after being revealed by the parting storm clouds. 

Not even the stars were able to create their normally magical presence with the foreboding aura of the demon-like orb cast not only over Wolf Lake, but that of the very heavens. The first verse of the prophecy had been revealed.

**_In the age of the Blood Moon, when its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors…_******

Tyler followed her line of sight, and let out a low whistle. He too, was taken aback a bit by the sight. He looked over at the expression of Sophia's face as she stared at the proof of the prophecy. Beside them the door was opened. Revealing another two darkly clothed, and almost faceless Hunters standing there. Ready to take their captive into custody.

"So," he started snidely. His tone grating like nails on glass, causing Sophia to start, pulling her gaze away from the horror of the night. "Looks like at least one part of your prophecy is true. Pity you won't live to see the rest of it come about."

Sophia looked at him calmly. Eyes unafraid. "You don't know that."

"No?" Tyler replied. Arching his brow at her. "The whole purpose of this, sweetheart, is to break you away from Ruby, so there is no chance of you two ganging up together to see that prophecy through. I don't think the Hunters are going to let you live long enough to really concern your head with ideas of running away from them to do just that."

With those words, he pushed her towards the two Hunters. The hands closing like vises around Sophia's shoulders, even as the impact from her stumble landed her hard against the chest of one. She looked up into his face, he looked to be in his middle twenties, but could have been much older than that, as his eyes… she'd never seen eyes that old before. He looked down at her unflinchingly with dark eyes, devoid of all emotion. His black hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, revealing the sharp angles and valleys of his face, which looked like it had been chiseled from ice. She shuddered against his grip. Fear once again rearing its ugly head as the door swung closed. Cutting off the outside as the men began to escort her away. At once Ruby was there, flooding her mind with warmth and comfort. Reminding her that even in this place, this uncertain… **_hell, _**she wasn't alone.

It was that, and only that, that allowed Sophia to walk on her own to whatever it was that awaited her at the end of this dark hallway, instead of having to be carried. She thought back on Rianna, her ancestor, and it helped to lend her strength. That, as well as the feel of the woman's pendant brushing against her skin under the still very damp blouse that she had already pulled away self-consciously from her body, and buttoned it up to her chin. Her bare feet stinging slightly with each step after having superficially cut them on the shattered bits of glass back at the Mansion.

She took comfort in knowing that Ruby was sharing her mind, trying to find a way to help her. She took comfort in the knowledge of what Rianna must have faced during her time in the Darkness that their people had faced so long ago. Even worse then what she was facing now. She had the sudden knowledge that, if she believed in ghosts, if she believed in the spirits of others hanging around on Earth instead of going on to their eternal Home, then she believed that Rianna would have been walking right alongside her. Proud of her great-great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter's courage. Courage that didn't come from her being the white wolf or future mate to the Alpha... But from being Sophia Donner, the town's half-human 17-year-old teenager.

And more than worthy of her lineage.

And as Sophia continued to walk down that hallway, coming upon yet another door, she knew that despite what happened in there once she arrived… Despite what happened to Luke back at the Mansion as he fought to keep his life from slipping beyond his grasp, they were still together. Even at this time and place, he was still with her. Sophia's mind flashed back to various moments in time. Luke guarding over her in wolf form when she had run into John Kanin for the first time, so many nights ago... Luke's yellow eyes watching her in the rear-view mirror of his car… Laughing with her in his car before pushing the speed up and beyond the limit in an attempt to share with her what it felt like to Flip… him standing in front of her at one of the Raves, shirt flapping open in the breeze as he had tried to tempt her past what she was willing to give… Even to when he had pissed her off, and she'd tossed him into his car, cratering the windshield. His stunned but slightly pleased expression at the sudden show of the wolf within her.

 He had protected her, infuriated her, tempted her, and yes… had even broken her heart.

And then there were the moments that had come after. Luke coming to her when she'd been caught in her Flip. Merging his mind with her to show her that it was okay to let go. Images of his body pressed against her bare back protectively in that dream-like moment were still as vivid to her, as when they had made love for the first time. The memory of his body moving deeply within hers as the meteors in the sky lit it up in a dazzling, shooting display.

Sophia closed her eyes as the images shifted to them running under the stars in wolf form, fur brushing up against one another intimately. Of him teasing her, taunting her playfully. And back again to them joined together. Except this time, the images of this afternoon danced in her head. The way his hands had touched her as if she was made of the most precious silk. The passion in his eyes, and the ecstasy in his expression as he received pleasure from her body. 

/I'm aware of what the rules are… but you know that I will follow you, over silbury hill, and through the solar field… You know that I will follow you…/

Their souls were tied irrevocably to one another, and Sophia took strength in that realization, that belief. Knowing that, no matter what happened, whether one or both of them lived or died, she would see him soon. In this realm… or the next.

They would be together again.

**These tears I've cried… I've cried a thousand oceans. And if it seems, I'm floating in the darkness. Well, I can't believe I would keep… keep you from flying… So I would cry, a thousand more… if that's what it takes… to sail you home… Sail you home… Sail… Sail you home…**

****** 

"How bad is it?" Matt asked Sherman quietly. A knot forming in his stomach as he observed the grimness of the older man's expression. Sherman looked back at him. The open starkness to his eyes momentarily startling Matt.

"The bullet is lodged close to the main arteries leading from his heart. If I pull it out, they could rupture and he would most certainly die. But if I don't, his body won't be able to heal itself, and he'll bleed out completely."

"Oh, god." Matt heard Vivian moan, but he didn't spare her a glance. Instead, his voice rose an octave as he locked onto the eyes of their Keeper.

"Sherman, you have to make a decision here. If he's going to die anyway, then you have to at least try."

For the first time in Matt's life, he was confronted with something he had thought he would never see in Sherman Blackstone's expression. Fear. Fear and uncertainty. The other man didn't know what to do.

Matt looked down at Luke in desperation. Seeing how pale the countenance of the young pup was. He could hear Luke's heartbeat slowing down far beyond what was capable of supporting him for long. Luke was dying. His daughter's mate was dying, and there was nothing that Matt could do.

He had never hidden his displeasure of the boy. Never hidden the fact that he didn't trust him, or believe that he was even remotely worthy of Sophia. He had known his daughter was attracted to Luke, and he had fought to keep them apart. Telling Sophia over and over again how dangerous Lucas Cates was. He should know, as, once upon a time… **_he had _**been Luke. He had told her how Luke wasn't reliable. How he would never care for anyone but himself. How he would only want one thing from Sophia, and once he had it, he would turn his back on her. Leaving her to the cruel existence she would face as a Skinwalker forever trapped in Wolf Lake. Alone and forgotten. Forever bound to **_this _**world, **_this _**life. That Luke would take Sophia's future, rip it to shreds, and never think twice about it. He had told her this over and over again; that she wouldn't find what she was looking for in Wolf Lake's bad boy.

But he had been wrong.

He hadn't realized just how much he had been, till he saw the look in Luke's eyes when he braved facing him down the night of Sophia's Flip. Not many would have done that. In fact, Matt didn't think **_anyone_** would have done that. It was well reputed in the Pack how deeply Matt felt for his daughter, and how the mere threat to her existence would just as easily drive him to strike out at anyone that would come near her, then to allow them to help. And it was true; that night had been the closest he had ever come to going completely out of control.

But Luke hadn't backed down. He had known that Sophia had been in trouble, and that he had the power to save her. Matt had known it as well. And even though it had pissed him off so thoroughly to know that his daughter was going to life bond with the one that he had tried his hardest to keep her away from… for Sophia's life, he would have done anything, and allowed **_anyone_** go to her.

Maybe he had always known, that Sophia and Luke were supposed to be together. Maybe that was why he had fought to keep them apart. Destiny couldn't be harnessed, couldn't be controlled… but it hadn't stopped him from trying. Hadn't stopped him from hoping. He had wanted something better for Sophia than Wolf Lake. Anything besides this town. But he didn't think that that was what Sophia had wanted. Not for a long time. Instead, she had chosen this life, with all its consequences. And had chosen the boy that Matt had original believed would have destroyed her, as surely as Tyler had tried to do to Ruby.

But the one thing that had earned Luke a small bit of Matthew's respect, was the expression in the younger man's eyes when he had stood up to him. The one that had stated quite clearly to Matthew that he didn't care what he thought, what he said, or what he allowed… he wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't leaving. He had stood up to Matt, and if he had had to, he would have gone through him to get to Sophia.

And that was when Matt had given in against trying to fight Destiny. And considering how Luke had stood by Sophia's side through the last week. Actions spoke a hell of a lot louder than words, as to how much the kid had changed.

That and the bleeding, broken body of that other pup that had threatened to take Sophia away from Luke. 

Matt smiled painfully. Yeah, the kid had earned his respect. In fact, he saw a hell of a lot of himself in him. The way he had been – Pack bad boy and party animal – before a certain gentle but strong willed mortal human woman had walked into his life, and stolen his wolven heart away.

But now Luke was dying, and there wasn't anything Matt could do to save him. And the only thing that he could think of, was that Sophia was going to go through the same damn thing her father had when Marie had died. Her soul literally ripped away from their bond.

A tear trickled down Matt's cheek unchecked. It would destroy her.

While Matt was lost in his reverie, Ruby was somewhere else. She heard Sherman saying there wasn't anything he could do. She heard Matt's sudden silence as he withdrew into himself, and she heard Sherman telling Vivian how sorry he was. How he stood up, clothes rustling, to comfort and control their Alpha, as a part of her went mad. Screaming out in denial and crying into Sherman's shoulder. Her fists beating on his chest.

She heard all of it, but it was like she wasn't even in her body anymore. Like it was all coming from so far away. All she could focus one was the sound to the steady, rhythmic pulse of her heart, pounding loudly in her chest. Eventually drowning out all the noises around her. She listened to her heart… echoing that of the sluggish pace her brother's dying heart was setting, Knowing it wouldn't be long before that heartbeat was silent.

John was watching Ruby carefully, seeing how pale she had become. He swallowed painfully, feeling the torment of the room like a knife. He glanced over to where Shawn was trying to help Sherman control Vivian… Matt still pressing the bloody towel against the entry wound, hoping against hope that it would suddenly clot and heal. Yet knowing in his heart that it wouldn't… and then he looked back to Ruby, who, by all outward appearances, wasn't even attached to her body anymore.

"Ruby?" He whispered gently as he knelt down beside her, where she sat next to her brother. Her bare legs and naked torso covered in his blood. Her dark hair hung down around her downcast face, shielding her from view. The thick locks falling over her naked chest. John felt a sudden panic when he couldn't sense her through their mind link. It was like she had shut down… or… had shut him out.

Reaching out to her, he jumped at the sudden sound of her mental voice across their intimate link. Ringing with authority.

'Don't! Don't touch me.'

'Ruby…'

'I mean it, John.'

'What's wrong, Ruby? What's happening?'

It was a long time before Ruby answered. She couldn't explain it. It was like a part of her was waking up. One that she hadn't been aware of before this moment. Or… maybe she had. Maybe she had always known it was there, but like a barely remembered dream, it had disappeared from her at the dawn's early light. Shying away from revealing itself too early. A part of her heritage, her destiny… A part of her legacy as a white wolf.

But now… Now it was stepping out from the darkness of her sup-conscious, and into the light of a new dawn. One that was going to bring about a lot of change to Ruby's life. And hopefully, to those around her as well.

She was so quiet there for a moment, that when her voice finally did come, he wasn't sure if it was through mind link or through vocal. It was the lack of response of those around him that answered that question.

'I can save him, John. I can heal Luke.'

****** 

Sophia was led into a darkened room, where she was greeted by a fairly large, dark skinned man. His black eyes washed over her coldly, and Sophia had trouble suppressing her shudder. Death was in those eyes.

He beckoned her captors to bring her over to the far wall, where what appeared to be old-fashioned manacles hung down, A foreshadowing of what was to come.

She didn't fight them as they led her over. Didn't fight them as she saw that those manacles weren't as old as she originally thought. They were fairly new, and were bolted heavily to the concrete wall. She swallowed as she saw the splatters of blood coating that wall and those manacles, and knew that they belonged to a Skinwalker. Some of it was old and brown, while the rest of it looked fresh and still wet.

**_…and the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor…_**

She didn't fight them as they turned her around, raised her arms above her head, and fastened the cuffs to her wrists. Tightening them down till she could feel the edges cutting into her flesh. They weren't taking any chances, she noted wryly. She noticed with a sudden jolt of fear, that she couldn't feel Ruby anymore. The older girl had disappeared from her mind. Giving no reason to have done so. Sophia closed her eyes against her tears, as she tried to reach Ruby through their connection. But the connection had been blocked as surely as it would if someone had slammed a door in her face. The only reason why she could think that Ruby would have done that, was because there was something going on, something involving Luke, that she didn't want her to know about.

She was on her own.

Sophia opened her eyes again, and provided no resistance against her bonds. She didn't fight them, because she knew she didn't have a chance of winning. Better to wait for an opportunity to present itself, and maybe, just maybe have a chance of getting out of here in one piece, than to risk it now, and ultimately face a most assured death.

She watched calmly as the others left the room. None of them saying a single word. A dark-skinned man had stayed behind though, and Sophia had the sudden feeling that this was the last Hunter alive that she wanted to be left alone with. The way his eyes looked at her… it was like she was staring into a thousand unmentionable horrors that her people had been faced with, and their screams of agony still echoed in those depths.

What was more, was that she saw he enjoyed inflicting pain in all its forms, and he wasn't going to stop with them, or even with her. This man would continue to hunt any of those that caught his twisted fancy. And he would hunt them purely for the love of the kill. The taste of the blood. The **_thrill. _**

And they had the nerve to call her species unholy. 

She tilted her chin up high, and met his gaze calmly, coolly. Whatever happened, she would never, **_never _**show this monster fear.

He studied her for a moment, like one might study an interesting sculpture. His gaze cool and unflinching as they probed into the depths of hers. Amused at her lack of fear and complete acceptance over her predicament, the way she held herself perfectly still, like she was that said sculpture. Not blinking. Barely breathing… and he looked forward to when he would smash this statue to pieces. 

Without a single word, he turned around and left her there, by herself in the near darkness. The door shutting behind him, lock sliding into place.

Sophia sagged against her bonds, closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath. Trying to gain control over the debilitating fear clawing its way to the surface. She knew she couldn't give in to it, or she would surely be lost.

It was then that she realized she wasn't as alone as she had originally thought. Hearing a barely audible moan coming from the shadowed corner of the room, she peered into it. Making out a huddled broken form, lying crumpled there in a bloody torn heap.

A cry of denial rose in Sophia's throat as her instincts confirmed who it was, long before it weakly turned towards her. A once darkly seductive face now bruised and torn beyond belief. Framed by a familiar wealth of blond curls.

Sophia closed her eyes against the sight. Nodding slowly in affirmation when Presley's hoarse, whispered question reached her.

"S-Sophia?"

****** 

Ruby didn't waste anytime. She knew that with every minute that passed, Luke was closer to dying. She could already feel him slipping away.

Reaching forward, she pushed Matt's hand away from Luke's bloody chest. Grabbing his wrist in a vise-like clamp when he tried to replace it. Determined silver eyes stared into his for a moment as she shook her head, and resolutely pushed his hand away yet again. This time, Matt leaned back on his haunches, watching her warily. 

Ruby leaned over Luke's body, her hand coming up to press into the still bleeding wound. The life-giving fluid seeping around her fingers and making her grip slippery. Her other hand came to rest for support on his abdomen, as she closed her eyes.

In that moment, the wild, unpredictable, and passionate Ruby Cates – daughter of the deceased Alpha and a schizophrenic, ex-mate to the traitor and murderer Tyler Creed, and soul mate to the human-recently-turned-Skinwalker Seattle PD John Kanin, who the whole town had fought to keep her away from – ceased to exist. Simply because **_Ruby_** didn't know how to do what needed to be done. Didn't know how she was going to save her brother. Doubted that it could even be done, and that right there would have sealed Luke's fate.

Instead, the white wolf from within, as old as the time when the first of their species had walked the earth, and as timeless as eternity, took control. Knowing **_exactly _**what needed to be done.

The sight of Ruby's sudden movements towards Luke caught the attention of Sherman, still holding Vivian's shaking body close to him, and he saw that sudden glow to her eyes. Saw it, and recognized it for what it was. He became very still and tense as he waited. Praying that he was about to see a miracle. The miracle of a gift that she might have been given due to her heritage.

Vivian's grief-stricken eyes followed the path of Sherman's, and she tried to understand what he was seeing that she wasn't.

"What is she–?"

Sherman cut her off suddenly. His grip on her bare arm tightening as she tried to go to the fallen body of her son.

"Do not!" Sherman hissed at her. He yanked her back around to face him. His dark eyes glittering with emotion as he demanded her attention. "If you value your son's life, then do nothing. Say nothing."

Vivian swallowed at the hard tones of his harshly spoken words – he had never talked to her like that – and turned back around. Watching Ruby and Luke closely, but not interfering. Confusion and pain danced in her eyes. Matt slowly stood up and walked over to her, taking her from Sherman had wrapping his arms around her tightly in comfort. Vivian pressed her face into the hollow of his throat and breathed deeply. Trying to fight back the sobs in her throat. She was almost afraid to believe that there was hope that Luke could make it. That Ruby would pull out some miracle from her white wolf abilities. But her son was not dead yet, and she grasped a hold of that hope with both hands and clutched it to her bleeding heart. Hoping against hope that Ruby could do it. That she could save her son.

As Ruby closed her eyes, no hesitation on her part was present. Knowing instinctively what to do, she locked onto her brother's waning life force, and set to work. Her mind reaching out, connecting with his, and her 'spirit' cascading down into his body.

She could feel herself racing along inside his veins, intent on her goal. Not pausing for anything. Felt herself come upon the bullet. Saw the damage it had inflicted… tearing through muscle and bone. Shattering the structure so close to his struggling heart beat. So close that the slightest movement of the bullet could very well end his life. But nevertheless, she knew how to handle this. She knew what needed to be done.

Shielding the workings of his heart, and wrapping herself around the bullet, she focused… and slowly started to 'push' the bullet up. Not stopping as it slowly inched its way towards the entry wound. Careful not to tear into any more blood vessels on the way up.

Knowing when it finally exited Luke's body, Ruby back-tracked. Going back down into the slender tunnel tearing it's way through his body. She could already see that, in part, she had been right. The bullet **_had_** been made of silver. But this silver was no different than any other kind. And as their history had proven time and time again against the silly superstitions of humans, silver had no affect on their kind.

But the poison that the bullet had been coated in, was a different story all together.

It had left its traces throughout the entryway. Filtering into what was left of Luke's blood flowing through his veins. She could see its tiny blackish green particles at work. Keeping Luke's boy from healing itself. Whatever this was, it wasn't something that their species could afford dealing with right now. And the threat it posed was too much to think about

Setting aside her fears of the unknown drug, she attacked it with a vigor. Imagining herself burning through every last bit of it. Sending it away, harmless now, on the sluggish current of Luke's life force. Unable to do any more damage. 

After that, she went back to the entry wound, and helped urge Luke's slow to respond healing properties into overdrive. Healing the wound from the inside out. Not ignoring a single piece of bone, muscle, blood vessel, or tendon. No matter how minute. She slowly backed herself out of the slender tunnel. Healing as she went. **_Sealing_** the wound from the inside out.

When she finally pulled out, it was to overwhelming weakness and disorienting dizziness. 

She could barely stay upright, as she felt the blood rush from her suddenly drawn face. A minute, an hour, or a day could have passed since she had entered Luke's body. And at the moment, she had no idea which. The only thing she was aware of was the sudden vertigo of falling backwards, strong familiar arms catching her protectively before her body could hit the floor, and the black whirlpool starting to descend over her consciousness.

"Blood," she murmured before that black current carried her away. "He needs a transfusion… quickly…" With those words, she let out a sigh as the soothing darkness gathered her into its embrace, and carried her off into sweet oblivion. John still holding her passed-out form tightly in his embrace. Her head cradled against his chest comfortingly.

John looked up in stunned surprise at the others in the room. Everyone stood there in complete shock. Hardly believing what they had just seen. In the span of about 15 minutes, Ruby had just written history as she did the impossible. Saving her brother from the clutches of Death.

The sight of her leaning over Luke; a bluish white light admitting from her hands, and glowing from within Luke's shattered chest as it healed his wound – was a sight none of them would forget anytime soon.

Sherman was the first one to recover. Leaning down, he inspected Luke's now healed, but still very bloody chest with an expression that was as close to stunned disbelief as John had ever seen.

Vivian pulled away from Matt to drop to her knees beside Luke. Trying to keep it together herself.

"I don't believe it. He's going to be okay." She whispered softly, Her hand reaching up to brush a lock of hair off of his forehead.

Sherman's expression suddenly turned grim. "He's not quite out of the woods yet. Ruby's right, he needs a transfusion immediately."

"I'll give it to him." Matt spoke up. Stepping forward. He was slightly taken aback when Shawn suddenly came forward and grasped his arm in disagreement.

"No. The Pack, and your daughter need you at full strength." Shawn stubbornly pointed out. Suddenly more mature than his party-image would admit. He pushed back the streak of blond hair that fell into his face. "Luke is like a brother to me… I'll do it."

Matt nodded slowly in agreement and stepped back. Letting the younger boy go forward in his place. 

Sherman beckoned him to sit down, as he took transfusion needles and a tube out of his medical case. Slipping one into the vein on Sean's outstretched arm, and the other into Luke's. Waiting tensely as the dark blood from Shawn slithered quickly down the slender clear tube, and crawled into Luke's depleted flow.

Sherman looked at his watch and began to time it. Not a word was spoken, as everyone watched and waited. Ruby still unconscious in her mate's watchful embrace.

**************************************  

TBC Soon in Chapter 12, Ep. 19 – "The Prophecy : Part Two"

You guys are going to hate me for telling you this, but I already have Part Two written and ready to post. You see, my original plan for this two-part ep. was changed on me by my muse. I was originally going to make the two-part ep. the finale of this series, followed by a calmer, shorter epilogue chapter. In fact I've had that planned for some time now, like all of you already know.

When I started writing this chapter, I noticed fairly quickly that it was getting longer and longer as I went deeper into the chapter. Which didn't really concern me at first, till I finally reached the end, and realized that it was **_more than twice _**the size of my normal chapters. Over 20,000 words. Too long, for just one ep.

So after some intense arguing with my Muse over him deceiving me, I came to the conclusion to break up what would have been **_just _**Part One, into both Part One and Part Two. Thus the reason why Part Two has already been written.

I still can't believe I managed to write more than 20,000 words in **_half _**the time it takes me to do just 10,000 

You see what a slave driver my Muse can be??? I was up till 1:30 in the morning last night, finishing Part Two!

Anyway, please don't forget to review this chapter, considering all the torturous hours I spent on bringing it to you a week before its originally planned due date. Keep in mind, the more reviews I get, the quicker I'll get to posting Part Two (hey, I'm not above black-mail. It can be a wonderful thing if you're the person wielding it! LOL) 

I hope everyone has a safe holiday week!

(Sapphira)


	12. Ep 19, The Prophecy, Part Two

Chapter 12, Ep. 19 – "The Prophecy : Part Two" 

Author's Note – Hello again! Nice for you to drop by! Pull up a seat and settle in for a spell, as we continue with Conclusion To The Wolf Lake Series.

Someone who posted a review for the last chapter seemed to be a little confused about my note on my series being selected for the Phoenix Virtual Television, so I'll clarify.

This is a web site that posts fanfic-like conclusions to series that have been cancelled, or original series penned by its creators for strictly the readers on the Internet. It is not an actual TV program or channel. As much as I would prefer otherwise, the actual TV series Wolf Lake is gone forever. It lives on only in its die-hard fans who have taken their love for the series to the Internet. To understand better what I'm referring to, go back to the Author's Note in the last chapter, and reread through it carefully. That should explain it.

(Blue-Angel, you have no idea how happy I am to see you back on my review pages! I can always count on your amazing words of support as well as your honest criticism if you think anything needs work! You're a blessing to my stories, and you had me worried there for a while when I didn't see any reviews from you. I'm glad you're back, and I hope everything is okay in your world. Oh, and in regards to your comments about my E:FC series, you have to remember that the E:FC genre on this site is not as widely read as that of the WL genre… Even still, I have more reviews on my EFC series than any other story in that category… That counts for something! (grin))

***

Summery - Sophia will come face to face with the threat to their species, in a desperate attempt to save her own life from those who want her dead... As the weapons that the Hunters will be using against the Skinwalkers become known, Vivian will be faced with the uncertainty, that if they're going to have a future at all, it might have to be without the comfort and protection of Wolf Lake…

~~~

 Sophia watched in disbelief as Presley tried to pull herself up, only to fall back to the ground. The effort proving to be too much.

"Presley? **_Presley?!_**" Sophia called out, her voice firm, as she yanked futilely at her bonds. She wanted to go to the injured girl, but the damn things were solid. Not even she was strong enough to break them.

"Don't bother," Presley muttered, coughing a little as she turned onto her side to look at Sophia. "You can't break them. They're in too deep." She held up a wrist for emphasis, the tender skin torn from her pulling so hard previously on the manacles. 

Sophia stilled, and a frown marred her forehead as she tried to get a better look at Presley. "What happened? What did they do to you?"

Presley chuckled dispassionately. "What do you think they did they did to me, zoo-bait? They turned me into their own personal punching bag." All her sarcasm died away as she looked at Sophia soullessly. The raw torture of what she had went through reflected there. "They wanted information. I tried to resist them. I didn't want to betray the Pack…" Presley tailed off, her voice breaking as she closed her eyes against the sympathy in Sophia's.

"Presley, it wasn't your fault, you have to believe that."

Presley shook her head slowly. "I betrayed you all…"

Sophia leaned her head forward adamantly. Her tone commanding. "No! No, you didn't! Never think that. It's those monsters that are to blame, not you. Now, I need you to tell me what you told them, Presley. Did you tell them about the Prophecy?"

The battered girl nodded slowly. Too exhausted and broken to even open her eyes.

_"Everything?"_

A tear trailed down her cheek, leaving a streak behind in the blood matted there, but again, she nodded.

Sophia sighed, and leaned her head back against the wall. Trying to think. "Okay." She looked around her searchingly. Trying to figure a way out. She looked back over at what was once someone she had despised, and noticed how still Presley had become.

"Presley," Sophia spoke firmly, willing the girl to open her eyes again. She had to repeat the name several times before she did. Sophia continued. "I need you to do a favor for me. You need to back yourself into that corner, and try to remain as much out of sight as you can. Don't draw attention to yourself. Try to focus on rebuilding your strength, at least to the point where you can Flip, and th–"

"I can't." Presley whispered softly, shaking her head minutely where it rested on the cold concrete floor.

"Sure you can," Sophia reassured. "You just need–"

Presley spoke up again, this time her voice more forceful. "No, I can't." She looked at Sophia with emptiness reflected in her eyes, as she struggled to speak coherently. "They… drugged me… with something. I can't… even sense the wolf within me anymore." She let out a sigh before getting up the strength to do what Sophia requested, and that was to move back deeper into the shadows of the corner. It drained her past the point of consciousness, and as she started to spiral into oblivion, she made one last statement before passing out.

"… I… I can't Flip."

Sophia watched in dismay as Presley fainted. Leaving her alone to contemplate what the other girl had just said. They had drugged her with something that had kept her from Flipping. And was still keeping her from Flipping. It had made her vulnerable to them. Sophia didn't even want to think on whether or not it was permanent. 

If they had that kind of power over their species, then what other tortures had they also created to have at their disposal?

Sophia leaned her head back against the wall, and squeezed her eyes shut. Fighting back the powerless scream trying to claw its way from her tightly clenched throat.

****** 

When Luke came to, it was to the worst headache he had ever experienced. His skull literally feeling like it had been split open. It was accompanied by a strange radiating heat from his chest, which made it difficult for him to breath. As he gasped for air, he tried to open his eyes. The pounding in his head intensifying till he thought he would pass out again from the pain. Gritting his teeth against the swirling, dark weakness flooding his body, he succeeded in cracking open his eyelids enough to see the sudden blurriness of his vision. Blinking and focusing to clear it up, it finally gave way to the vision of his mother kneeling by his side, brushing her hand over his forehead to push back his hair from his eyes. She smiled serenely down at him, but the haunting fear was still echoing in her eyes from the fear and knowledge that she had almost lost him.

He turned his head slowly, swallowing painfully, his throat dry as his head protested even further from the unnecessary movement. He focused in on Sherman and Matt standing a little ways away, talking in low voices to one another.

"Luke?" Vivian whispered softly, bringing his attention back to her. Sherman and Matt looked away from each other at the sound, realizing that he'd awakened. Both let out a relieved breath. Sherman stepped closer, while Matt hung back a little ways. Running his hands through his hair in exhaustion.

Luke tried not to move as he waited for the pain in his head to ease. It was sure as hell taking its own sweet time. He was starting to feel sick from the harsh throbbing.

"Wh–what happened?" Luke managed to ask. His voice almost nonexistent as he frowned, trying to remember how he had wound up like this. He looked to the side, not noticing the worried look that Vivian and Sherman exchanged. He saw John sitting on the floor a little ways away; cradling what appeared to be Ruby, sleeping in his arms. He noticed the blood coating his sister's body through blurred vision, and his eyes narrowed. Trying to bring her into focus. 

"Wha–?" Luke groaned. Lifting a heavy hand to briefly touch his forehead. It was then that he noticed the blood splattered all over her arm, and matted to his chest and torso. He struggled to sit up despite the spinning in his head and the restraining hand of Vivian.

"Let him be." Ruby whispered softly to Vivian, finally coming to in time to see Luke trying to sit up. Vivian looked at Ruby in desperation, but did as she asked. Her hand dropping away to clench in her lap. Watching her son closely for any signs of passing out.

Luke closed his eyes against the vision of the room tilting around him at impossible angles. Waiting for it to pass. Steeling himself against the sensations. 

When he finally did open his eyes, he remembered where he was. Looking around him, he saw the rather large puddle of blood and water encircling him. Sticking to his soaked jeans. Feeling a small amount of heat at his wet back, he looked back behind him at the glowing embers in the fireplace… And remembered what had happened.

"Oh no…" Luke let out a moan as he closed his eyes against the memory of what had happened; Tyler and the Hunters breaking in without them realizing it, confronting him and Sophia. Him crouching down in front of her protectively. His only instinct at the moment to protect her, and the feel of her fingers clenching on his bare shoulder, trying to anchor him to her. The sight of the barrel of that rifle coming up and firing. The sound of Sophia's screams, as the world exploded into white-hot pain, and then everything going black…

He opened his eyes to look around the room. Struggling to come to his feet. Vivian let out a small cry of denial, even as Sherman and Matt came forward to grasp at him for support as Luke tried to steady himself. Feeling the tightening in his chest like an extremely sore muscle, but barely spared the angry looking pink scare a second glance. 

Shawn was laying down on the couch, looking slightly pale as he held a small cloth against the crook of his arm. 

Luke looked down at his own arm and the small trickle of blood coming down from a pinprick placed over his vein, and he realized what Shawn had done for him. But right now wasn't the time to thank him for it. He still wasn't sure how he had managed to survive through what he just had. That bullet had went in too close to his heart… he still remembered the feeling of it tearing through him… and the sound of feminine screams still echoed in his ears. 

Still fighting the blackness hovering over his mind, and the blurriness of his vision still clinging, as he reached yet again for his voice. "S-Sophia… They've taken her. I… I have to find her. We've to get her back."

****** 

The time went by unbearably for Sophia. It felt like it had been hours, but yet it had, in truth, only been a few minutes, before the door into her 'cell' was opened, and two men stepped forward. One was the dark one from earlier, the other was one she hadn't seen before, but judging by the way he carried himself, he appeared to be the one in charge. She studied him as surely as he was studying her. He looked like your traditional well-to-do gentlemen. Late fifties, early sixties. His short hair liberally doused with salt and pepper. Looking at him, Sophia realized just how deceiving looks could be of a person.  

To see this man was to disbelieve the age-old dream that good and evil were clear-cut. This man, who looked like he had just stepped out of a family magazine, was indeed, a cold-blooded killer.

One had only to look deeper into those eyes to see that truth.

"Who are you?" Sophia was the first to speak. She wanted to know whom she was facing, and she wanted to know him by his name.

The older gentleman smiled politely at her, as if this was nothing but a casual meeting out on the streets… instead of her being chained to the wall like an animal, and him standing in finery that held trace amounts of blood sprinkled on them. No doubt from him 'interrogating' Presley.

"I'm guessing introductions are in order." The man mused to himself. "My name is David Van Halen. I believe some of your kind have already met my brother."

Sophia thought back on what her father had told her of Arthur Van Halen, and his capture of both Ruby and John, forcing a transfer, that, in a way, had been a very good thing. Considering John's recent Flip.

Spotting the recognition of the name in Sophia's eyes, David smiled at her in cool delight, like he had just made a new best friend. "Ah, so I see you do know of whom I'm talking about. A pity, it really was, to hear about his death yesterday in that Sanatorium you sent him to back in Seattle. A real shame. They really need to be more careful of how they mark their drugs. You never know if you're giving the patient the right thing."

Sophia remained still. Giving no outward signs of her inner turmoil. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. His man had just had his own flesh and blood killed and he found his death **_amusing._**

To realize that this was what her species was faced with made her sick beyond belief. They were the unholy ones… not the Skinwalkers.

David stepped closer to her. His eyes sweeping up and down her body. Noting the tear of her sleeve at the shoulder of the arm that Tyler had twisted so badly, and the state of her bare feet. Already healed from their cuts. He continued as if unaware of the shudder of disgust that rippled through Sophia's body under his perusal. But the glint in his told her that he had seen her fear… and he reveled in the taste of it.

"I would ask you who you were, but Blondie over there in the corner already informed us all about you, little one." He tilted his head in the direction of the darkened corner that Presley was hiding in, and Sophia could hear the other girl's heart rate speed up from being mentioned. 

"Sophia," The older man rolled her name of his tongue in a way that reminded her of another time, another place, when she had been captured, bound and gagged, and tossed into a cold bathtub to await being slaughtered… it wasn't one of her fondest memories.

"What do you want, David?" Sophia ventured to ask. Proud that her voice didn't tremble, didn't stumble over the words.

David cocked his head at her. "What makes you think I want anything from you?"

Sophia arched her brow and tested her bonds, drawing his attention to the manacles.

"Ah, yes. So sorry about that." The dark, taunting humor in his eyes saying anything but an apology. "But you can understand the position I've found myself in. My men are a little antsy about the idea of having a…" He paused dramatically, looking her back over very carefully as he stepped closer. Towering at least a good two feet over her, his eyes making her skin crawl. "…white female running around loose." He had the gall to look somewhat embarrassed. "I'm so sorry about that, but they can be a very difficult group to deal with at times."

Sophia couldn't help but bare he teeth at him when she answered. "My heart's bleeding for ya." 

The older man laughed. "Oh, don't worry. It soon will. It soon will."

Sophia tossed all premises away of her trying to appear calm and unruffled, and glared her hatred at him. Eyes flaring bright gold. Yanking again on her bounds.

David tsked. "Now, now. Is that any way to behave towards your host?" He turned to look at his companion. "Maybe you would prefer to be left in Eric's company instead, hmm? He did such a wonderful job of 'taking care of' your friend there. I'm sure he'd be well capable of doing a much better job of entertaining you than myself."

Sophia tilted her chin up defiantly. "You **_would_** have to chain me up like this, before you could torture me. Don't you realize what that makes you? A coward!"

David studied her words thoughtfully before answering her. "It would if I was talking to a human woman, rather than a female Bitch. But seeing as how you're just an unholy creation of Evil, you have no right to discuss morals with me." His hand shot up to back hand her hard across the cheek. Despite the obvious strength he possessed, that strength was still human, and the blow barely turned Sophia's head. It still pissed her off. His hand reached up to grasp a handful of her hair at the roots, her body rebelling against his disgusting touch. He yanked her head back, and leaned his lips closer to her ear. Sophia thought she would vomit right then and there.

 "And to answer your previous question, you have nothing that I want. You friend over there provided me with more than enough information to see about the destruction of your entire species, once and for all!" his tone started to increase with its ferocity. Sophia winced at his loud, calloused words against her unprotected ear. His other hand came up to encircle her throat. The almost civilized façade from before disappearing from view as she looked into the eyes of the Leader of the Hunters, and the most dangerous being she had ever had to come across. Deaths of hundreds were in those eyes. The lust for blood ran through him like hell-fire, and she knew that he would never stop coming after her people till every last one of them was dead. And then she pitied the next group, human or otherwise, that he would focus on, because she knew he would never stop. He was addicted to it. He bathed in it. Pain and destruction was the only thing he lived for. In all its forms. His entire existence. 

"No, you will provide me with something far more precious." David's voice went back to being a whisper, his cold fingers stroking the curved expanse of her exposed throat, causing bile to rise in her into her mouth. The taste heavy on her tongue. She closed her eyes in a wince at the sudden pain in her scalp as he twisted his fingers deeper into the mass.

"You will provide me with the pleasure of your death." He continued on. "And with you, the death of your barbaric species' vision of hope." Giving her another sharp pull on the hair, he snatched his hand away as if she repulsed him. Taking with it several hairs yanked painfully out by their roots. She opened her eyes again to stare at him. Lips pressing tightly together as her body tightened against the restraints. She wanted nothing but to launch herself at his throat, and tear him to pieces.

But to do so would make her just like him, and Sophia knew she didn't have it in her to become a killer.

David shook his head at her. "I still can't believe that a little teenage girl like you is supposed to be the savior of your species. But it doesn't matter anymore. Pretty soon, you'll be dead, and with you, any possibilities of your **_Pack _**surviving yet again, and escaping out clutches!" With a snarl, he turned his back and made his way to the door, Eric close behind him.

Before leaving though, he pointed out to her the clock placed high on the wall. It read 9:55

He turned to look back at Sophia, his past anger and lust for pain having disappeared beneath the surface of the well-to-do gentleman once more. The change shocking to Sophia, for it was like she had been faced with two completely separate people.

But that cruel light in his eyes was still present as he looked gloatingly at her. "You have till midnight in which to live. At which, you're luck will run out along with my hospitality, and you'll be executed." He smirked at her. "So sorry for that."

With that, he turned and left. Leaving Sophia there screaming out insults as she thrashed against the chains holding her.

Finally, after a few resentful minutes, she sagged against them, her body almost a dead-weight in defeat. She couldn't get loose, and there was no way she could save herself. She leaned her head back against the blood-stained wall behind her, and allowed the tears to flow unchecked down her cheeks. Her silent pain visible only to the crumpled body of the Skinwalker female in the corner. Her eyes too, filled with sorrow as they never left Sophia.

_…the form of the white wolf will appear once again… But to battle the oncoming Darkness, its soul will reside… not in the shell of One… but in that of Two…_

****** 

Luke was still stunned by what Ruby had just told him. He consciously placed his palm over the healed wound in the left, upper portion of his chest. His finger absently rubbing over the newly developed scar. Something told him that that scar would be there even years from now. Unlike others that found their way onto a Skinwalkers' body that would disappear within a few weeks, a life threatening wound would almost always leave a trace of the proof of something that maybe they shouldn't be forgetting anyway, anytime soon. When they were so much stronger, and so much harder to kill, it made many of them forget just how fragile their lives could become with a well-placed bullet or blade.

And all it took for them to remember that fact was that little, permanent scar. 

"Where's Sophia now?" He decided to start with what was the most important at the moment. He leaned back against the fireplace, arm resting on the mantle as he waited for some of his strength to return. 

"I don't know." Ruby replied honestly. Her and John had moved to the loveseat opposite the couch, and he had draped an over-large throw over them both. She was nestled into the side of his warm body, face still pale. Healing Luke had taken a lot out of her, and that had already been on top of her holding a connection to Sophia over such a long distance. She was mentally and physically exhausted. The still-healing wound in her thigh burned and throbbed from the strain placed on it, and she knew that John's shoulder wasn't feeling any better at the moment. 

"I severed contact with her before focusing on healing you, and now…" She raised a pale slender hand to her forehead and everyone in the room could see how it was trembling. "My mind is so fried I can't make contact."

Sherman spoke up for the first time in awhile. "These are all new and undeveloped abilities that Ruby as well as Sophia have discovered within themselves. If you remember, Sophia passed out pretty much the same way Ruby here just did after she pulled Skyler out of Flip limbo. Now, once they start becoming more used to their abilities, then they'll be able to rely on them without the fear of being so completely drained afterwards. It's like a new muscles that has to be carefully and slowly strengthened over time."

Ruby frowned at him. "Yeah, but it's not like either Sophia or myself have the time right now to 'strengthen' our gifts, so what do you suggest we do till then?"

Sherman shrugged innocently. "Carry around a big pillow?"

Ruby rolled her eyes at him and then fell back against John's side. Too tired to argue.

Throughout their conversation, Luke had become silently reflective as he leaned his weight on the mantel and studied the front door where it still hung open, having allowed the cold air from outside to filter into every aspect of his home like a silent enemy of the north. Not even the heat from the embers at his back could even hope to compete with the sudden drop in temperature. But he didn't feel it, he wasn't even aware of anything but the burning desire to find Sophia and have her safe again at his side.

Matt and Vivian both watched him cautiously. Seeing the hard and dangerous glint to his sea green eyes that were now beset on by his emotions, like the oceans to a storm. John saw it as well, and within it, saw a reflection of himself when Ruby had been threatened. Snared in that near-fatal trap they had fallen into only… 

Had it only been last night?

Luke tilted his head towards Ruby when he saw how worn she was. She wasn't capable of holding a mind-link with Sophia, or even capable of attempting it for only a few minutes at the current moment.

So, he closed his eyes to feel her out on their private merge…

…only to find their link gone.

Luke's eyes flew open as a cry of denial flew to his lips. No! She couldn't be dead. He would have felt it if she had!

Not if you had been unconscious at the time, devastating logic pointed out.

"Luke, what's wrong?" Vivian asked. Seeing the look in her son's eyes. It wasn't one she'd forget anytime soon. He looked as if his soul had just been wrenched forcefully from his body.

"Sophia," He breathed out, voice catching hoarsely. "I–I can't feel her through our link."

Vivian's eyes widened at the meaning behind his words, and she looked towards Matt, seeing how white and still he had suddenly become.

Turning away from the sight, she swallowed painfully and took a step towards Luke. "Is she de–?"

"No." Ruby answered firmly. She leaned forward to lock her eyes with her brother's. Calmness and assured belief burning in the silver depths, locking onto the haze of pain and shock reflected in those stormy ones. Traumatized by the loss of his mental link to his mate.

"Luke, Sophia is very much alive. You have to believe me. Believe that I know what I'm talking about. My connection to Sophia is still there, and I would know the **_second _**anything happened to it. Even though I can't reach out to her at the moment, it is not stopping her from reaching out to me."

Luke blinked, and that cold shield came back down over those expressive eyes and he nodded once. Sensing that his sister wouldn't lie to him. She was right, she had to be. His heart was still telling him, despite the fears of his mind, that Sophia was still alive.

"Then why can't he feel her?" Matt asked suddenly, sensing that there was more here than they were being told.

Ruby let out a pent-up breath and ran her fingers through her hair, pushing the tangled mass back from her face. Her face drawn and pale.

"I think it had something to do with the bullet that Luke was shot with. Or, rather what the bullet had been dipped in."  
  


Luke stood up straight. Eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?"

"I had originally thought that the reason why your body couldn't stop the bleeding, was because the bullet was silver. I could sense what it was, so I started to think that they had some type of silver that we hadn't heard of before. Something that **_did _**do to us what the human werewolf legends believe. But when I was healing you, I discovered that it wasn't the silver that was keeping you from healing, but a type of poison that the bullet had been dipped in. It was fast acting and had moved through your body in such a way that… I had wondered if it had had any other purpose than to stop your wound from clotting to stop you from bleeding to death. I can only guess that it's double purpose was to block your ability to communicate with other Skinwalkers, so that way you couldn't interfere with them taking Sophia. Tell me, can you even reach out to the common pathway?"

Luke stared off in the distance, the clenching of his jaw and the flicker to his eyes the only proof of the inner struggle within him raging to be turned lose on those that had done this. He shook his head no when he found that mental path cut as well. He couldn't stand this! Not being able to communicate on the mental pathways was like he had lost his ability to speak or hear. One thing no Skinwalker wanted to be faced with was the loss of their unique abilities. Death was more preferable than that trauma. 

"Damn it!" Sherman muttered as he began to pace in a small circle, He had already figured out that the Hunters had been experimenting with things they shouldn't. Things of a biological sense against the remains of the Skinwalker species, but he had only realized now just **_how _**advanced they had become in their plans to weaken the Pack.

Vivian placed one hand on her hip and raised the other to rub at her forehead. Her mouth opened several times like she was trying to find the right words to say first.

"Is this… permanent? I mean, will he be able to use the pathways again?"

Ruby nodded slowly, "I don't think it will be permanent, seeing as how I managed to push the poisons harmlessly out of his body, but I have no idea how long it will take before those lines are open again."

"Great, just great." Matt grumbled. "So until then, he's vulnerable."

Ruby looked at him calmly, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth comfortingly. "We're all vulnerable at the moment, Mr. Donner."

Luke started to shake his head. He wanted to run outside, he wanted to scream out at the night sky, he wanted to do anything but what he was doing at the current moment, which was nothing.

"Not as vulnerable as Sophia is. And that's what we need to be dealing with right now, trying to find her. Ruby?" he turned to look at her. "What else did you find out?"

Luke listened as Ruby began to describe everything she could to him. A niggling concern flitting in the back of his mind, a question that he desperately wanted answered.

Like how had the group of Hunters and Tyler managed to sneak up on them in the first place, without them knowing about it? Without them sensing them?

****** 

Sophia watched the clock as the short and long hand slowly crept its way across the plain sterile face. Hearing every tick as one second closer to dying. She didn't know what had happened to Ruby and the others, because every time she tried to reach out to Ruby, she couldn't get through. It was like this thick heavy cloud blocking her way. Smothering her every time she tried to move through it. She feared the worse.

"So... you really are a white wolf?" Presley's tentative disbelief surprised Sophia, and she looked down from where the clock was, to see that the severely battered girl had managed to get herself up into a sitting position. The only thing covering her nakedness was a man's simple flannel. She leaned her bruised back up against the wall for support, wincing. A fine layer of cold sweat dotting her forehead from the exertion. Sophia cocked her head at her and tilted an eyebrow at her in bemusement.

"You saw it yourself. You saw me Change in front of the whole Pack at the Meeting."

Presley closed her eyes for a moment, slightly rolling them. "Yeah, but, I still couldn't believe that a… that you…" She trailed off, suddenly uncertain as to how to continue.

Sophia couldn't help but chuckle at the other girl's sudden discomfort. Funny how nothing had ever stopped her before when it came to tossing around insults.

"What? That a half-breed could be a white female?" Sophia's mouth twisted at her sentence. "You know, once upon a time, that phrase was an insult. But it isn't one to me anymore. You know why?"

Presley looked at back at her. Listened to the calming frankness of her voice, and shook her head.

"Because I'm proud to be part human, and not for the ways you might think. Not because I have something against those that are pure blooded. But because, being my mother's daughter gave me more strength then you realize. More control over my wolven abilities, and a much better perspective of the human race that most of the Pack seems to have. I've been human. I've been on the other side of those taunts and jeers that you seem to aim at most of the 'ungulates' as you call them, and I've stood my ground against those remarks. Those beliefs all my life.  I know the value of the human race that you and most of the Pack seem to have forgotten. But, I've been Skinwalker too. I always have, and I've seen the responsibility needed to deserve that pelt. Not only do we need to respect our own kind, but those that are human as well that would probably stand at our side if it ever came down to it."

Presley kept her face averted. "I'm sorry for those things I said. About your mother. I–I didn't mean them."

"Yes, you did." Sophia disagreed softly. Seeing how the other girl flinched at the truth in Sophia's words. "But I forgive you."

Presley looked back up at Sophia, and a small smile reflected in her gaze. A smirk replaced it as she teased Sophia.

"This still doesn't mean we're friends, zoo-bait."

Sophia's lips twisted up at her sardonically in reply. "No, never that."

Presley chuckled, but was cut short as she began to cough again. Sophia's eyes narrowed at the sound. What she needed was to get herself and Presley out of here, for every minute that passed by was another minute closer to their deaths. Sophia knew that Presley had out-lived her usefulness to David Van Halen, and would most assuredly be executed right alongside Sophia at midnight. Sophia wondered briefly what was going to happen. How they were going to do it. Did they have some kind of ritual, or were they just going to put a bullet in their brains and get it over with? Something told her, that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be the latter. That would be too merciless for a bunch of men that seemed to enjoy inflicting as much pain as possible.

"Sophia, they did more to me than just take away my ability to Flip… They severed my ability to communicate telepathically."

Presley's sudden statement was a surprise, but not a shock. No telling how many things horrors they had up their sleeves for their species, what with the latest technology available to anyone with enough money to line some pockets with.

When Sophia started to answer, the opening of the door interrupted her. Presley shrank back, as Sophia's heart began to pound. Her gaze flying back up to the clock. It wasn't even 11:00 yet. Had they decided to kill them early?

Sophia cautiously watched as a man entered the room, shutting the door silently behind him. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized him as the one from earlier. The one that had led her into this room with his buddies in tow. The guy with the black ponytail and chiseled features accented by chips of black onyx for eyes. He would have been beautiful, if he hadn't been so cold. He was dressed simply in just a pair of black jeans and a long-sleeve black top. Dark hiking boots upon his feet that made no noise upon the concrete floor as he took a few steps closer.

As his gaze swept over first her and then Presley in calculation, he seemed to make a decision about something, and turned towards her.

Sophia watched him through frigid eyes as he came closer. She pulled harder at her bonds. There was only one reason why he would have come in here without wanting anyone else to see or hear him, and one reason only.

"Don't even think about it!" she spat out as he came to a stop less than a foot away. She yanked harder at the manacles, wanting desperately to rip his face apart as he cocked his head to the side and had the gall to appear amused at her struggles.

"Brave words coming from the one chained up like an animal, and about to be sent to the slaughter." He commented softly. His voice firm in its encasement of silk. His hands came to rest on Sophia's hips, and she was shocked at their unexpected heat. She had thought they'd be cold like the rest of him.

"They may just kill me in the next couple of hours, but I assure you, I'll be more than willing to take you down with me if you try anything!" Sophia snarled. Eyes flickering bright fire.

"Hmm," he chuckled dryly as his hands started to slide up her sides. "I have no doubt that you would, Skinwalker."

Sophia let out a hiss as she tried to kick out at him, but her blow was deflected by one well trained to do so. She thrashed yet again as his hands started to slide up her arms, bringing his body in closer to her exposed one. She had never felt so violated or helpless as she did in that moment, and she knew it was only going to get worse in a few minutes. Tears of hatred burned in her eyes as she stared back at his coolly un-moved ones just several inches away from hers. Like she was nothing more to him than an interesting specimen under a microscope.

As his hands came up to cover her defenseless hands, Sophia shuddered, and knew that she couldn't stop him from pinning her there. Couldn't stop any of it. Closing her eyes, she steeled herself for the inevitable. Preparing for the sensation of him tearing into her body without permission. The violation that she had no way of stopping.

Instead, she heard the sound of a click as the manacles were released from around her wrists, and the sensation of them falling away as her arms fell limply to her sides. Blood rushing into them, filling up the deadened nerves and chilled skin with burning heat. The pain caused her shoulders and arms to cramp in protest of being held in one position for so long.

Sophia opened her eyes and stared back into that of her prisoner/rescuer with complete and utter shock.

He smiled at her ruefully as he stepped back and out of her personal space. Knowing full well what she had originally thought he had come to do.

Sophia rubbed at her bruised wrists absently as she watched him approach Presley. He pulled out something that glittered strangely in the shadows, and before Presley or Sophia knew what he was doing, he had plunged a needle into the young girl's arm, pulled back slightly to make sure he wasn't in a vein, and then depressed the plunger. 

"What did you just give her?" Sophia demanded to know as she quickly paced forward after him. Stopping only when he stood back up. Coming together all in one fluid movement. Sophia swallowed but held her ground. No wonder they called them Hunters. She had never seen a human move the way they did.

"Something that will combat the drugs already poured into her system. She should be able to make the Change in about ten minutes."

"Why are you doing this?" Sophia looked at him in bafflement. "Why are you helping us?"

"Shh. Be quiet. There isn't a lot of time, and there is a lot to be said before you leave. In five minutes the shift of guards will change, and Freddy, the one who guards the back side of the building, always takes a relief session out in the woods before assuming his post for the next four hours. It should be enough time for you two to make good your escape, _if _we time this just right." He held up a hand when Sophia started to open her mouth to say something. "No. I told you to be quiet. I have information that is vital to your Pack if you are to be prepared for what David Van Halen is plotting."

Sophia studied the seriousness in his eyes and nodded. "I'm listening."

"Okay, first off. The two drugs that were pumped into that one, where designed to shut down the telepathy and well as the ability for you to Change that all Skinwalkers share. They both have been mass-produced and there is more than enough of them to go around for the remainder of your species."

Sophia felt a tremble race up her spine, but she didn't reveal any outward signs of her distress, as she continued to listen. Hanging on his every word. The knowledge she would learn from him just might save her Pack.

"Second, you might have noticed when you were captured, you couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary till they were right on top you, am I correct?"

Sophia frowned to herself, remembering how odd that had been. She had thought it was because her and Luke had been so absorbed in one another, and they had let their guard slip. She nodded slowly.

"That's because of this." He pulled out a funny shaped black disc from under his shirt where it hung on a leather cord. It glimmered in the muted light of the room as Sophia studied it.

"It's some type of mineral – and don't ask me what – that basically interferes with your sensory of the person wearing it. It basically acts like a shield. Any who is wearing it, cannot be picked up by the Skinwalkers senses. It's been used since the Dark Age, when your species barely managed to survive the Hunters' attacks."

Dawning comprehension went off inside Sophia's memory. "So that's what the power was that the Hunters had held over my ancestors, that had allowed them to destroy so many of us. And they hadn't even realized it."

He nodded his head, affirming her words. He looked over to Presley who was currently trying to stand up. Her strength starting to return.

"I don't know what was in that needle." She commented dryly, rubbing her arm absently. "But do you have another one?" 

He shook his head. "Nope. Besides, give it a few more minutes for the full effect to kick in. Pretty soon you'll be back to normal."

Sophia shook her head slightly, glancing from Presley to the man standing across from her. "Why was an antidote created for those drugs?"

He shrugged. "The same reason any antidote is made for a created biological threat. To hold it over the head of the infected as an enticement for gaining what one wants." He looked away from Sophia to glance at his watch, and then back to the door.

"Okay, it's time I got you two out of here. Can you support her till she gets her legs back under her again? 

Sophia nodded and went over to sling Presley's arm across her shoulders, hoisting the girl's weight up, as they moved in behind him.

"What's your name?" Presley asked. Wincing at the pain in her abused body. He didn't even turn to look at her.

"My name is not important."

"It is to me." she countered. 

As he pulled out a pistol from the back of his waistband and checked it, he looked over at the two girls. His gaze dancing over Sophia's before coming to rest on Presley.

Was it just her, or had Sophia seen a slight flicker of warmth in those black chips of ice when they came to rest on the petite blond?

"Call me Damien."

Presley quirked her brow at him. "Is that your name?"

He smiled then. An honest-to-goodness, real smile. "To some it is."

With that he turned back around and cautiously opened the door.

Sending up a prayer, Sophia and Presley followed closely in behind him as they stepped out of the concrete room, and into the nearly black hallway. The door shutting behind them, closing out the memories that both Sophia and Presley planned on forgetting about if they made it out of this alive.

****** 

Sophia had never felt so relieved as when all three of them stepped out of that building and into the night air. Granted, they weren't out of danger just yet, but on the same token, she wasn't chained to a wall anymore, and that made her very happy.

Damien quickly herded them towards the back. They arrived just in time to see a shadow of a man slinking off into the woods.

"Right on time." Damien muttered. Pushing them deep into the woods in the other direction. Finally he came to a stop. "Okay, this is where you two are on your own."

Presley protested this. "What? Aren't you coming with us?!" She was finally standing up on her own. Most of her wounds from the last torture session were almost healed. The few nastier ones about halfway there. She looked better than she had a couple of hours ago, but with such a vivid array of purples, blues, yellows and greens decorating her nearly naked body, she had no doubt seen much better days.

"No, my path lies here, with them."

"You can't be serious! They'll kill you for helping us escape!" Presley didn't want him to remain here. Not after he had risked so much to save them.  
  


"I would only slow you down if I went. Besides, they won't know if you were assisted or not in your escape. They don't even know that I was anywhere close."

When Presley would have continued to argue, Sophia held up a hand to silence her. "Let him be, Presley. I'm not any happier about it, but it's his decision to make."

Presley looked like she would have preferred to argue about this, but instead, she nodded her head slightly in agreement. "What's the plan?"

Sophia looked back over at Damien, before turning to Presley. "We'll split up. You cut through the woods and make your way as quickly as you can back to the Mansion–"

"The Mansion is where you were captured earlier." Damien cut her off to point out.

"I know. It's called hiding in plain sight. They won't expect that. Besides, we won't be there long."

Sophia turned back to Presley. "Tyler Creed has turned, and it's possible he's not the only one of ours that has. Trust no one unless it is Luke, Vivian, my father, Sherman or Ruby and John. Go to one of them, Presley. Not to your family or friends. Not yet. Just make it to one of them. Start running, and don't stop. But be careful. The Hunters have been placing traps around Wolf Lake–"

Again, Damien jumped in. "Stay away from the east side and you'll be fine."

Presley nodded. "What are you going to do?" Her question was pointed at Sophia, even though she took her own sweet time pulling her gaze from Damien's.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be going straight to the Mansion as well."

Presley nodded again as she quickly shed the over long shirt that one of the Hunters had tossed her after being tortured yet again this afternoon– had that been Damien then as well? – underneath it her body was bare, and her muscles started to shift and bones started to reshape as she took on her wolf form. Unaware that when she had pulled it off, a portion of the tail had caught on a tree limb jutting out, ripping a strip of the fabric away.

Presley's eyes never left Damien's as she started to Flip. She had had no idea how pleased she would have been to see that he wasn't the least bit disgusted or fearful of the sight. In fact, he seemed to watch it with a large amount of interest, and even a little bit of awe. She thought back on what Sophia had said earlier about respecting humans as well, as some would have the courage to stand by their side if given the chance to know their secret. And she had been right. Those words had proved to be prophetic in the appearance of Damien.

"Run." Sophia prompted gently. Urging the girl to turn and go deeper into the woods.

Giving Damien one last look in her wolven pelt, she turned away and lit out. Her lithe gray body cutting through the underbrush without a sound, as she pressed on for speed. Paws flying over the ground in rapture at being able to **_feel _**the wolf within her once again. All the memories of the past few days melting away as she glorified in being **_free. _**

But one memory did stick with her though. That of a beautiful human male with eyes of black stars.

Sophia watched Presley disappear into the depths of the forest, before turning back to look at Damien.

"Are you sure you won't come with me?"

Damien lips curled ever so slightly at her concern. "I'm sure. You better get going yourself." When he made a move to step away, Sophia placed a restraining hand upon his arm.

"Wait. Before you leave, I have to ask you… Why did you do this for us?"

Damien looked back at her for a moment, and then tilted his head up to look at the sight of the crimson moon leering at them from above.

"I am a descendant of one of the top warrior Hunters of the Dark Age, when my people nearly drove yours to extinction. That lineage is something that I have been told time and time again to treasure. But the one thing that our history edited out about my Ancestor, is that he fell in love with one of your species."

Damien looked down at the surprise he saw reflected in her eyes at his statement. He shrugged one shoulder slightly. "I guess she changed him. He fell in love with her, and his loyalties shifted to that of the Skinwalkers. But both him and the female that he had loved didn't make it through that time. Didn't get to make it to the New World when what was left of your species came here, to Wolf Lake. But, in part, one aspect of them still lived on."

"A child." Sophia finished. Tilting her head up to study him better. "You are descendant to not only a legendary Hunter, but his Skinwalker mate as well." Strangely, it all made sense.

Damien nodded. "Of course, that blood is heavily diluted by now, but it's still there. Along with the loyalties I feel towards your Pack. I know what the Hunters here are doing is wrong, and I figured that if I could do anything to slow them down or save a life or two of your species, then this… façade would be well worth it."

Sophia looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you."

Damien nodded. "Yeah well, don't get yourself captured again or all this will have been worthless." With that, he stepped away and headed back to the building. Careful to stay out of sight from the newly placed guard.

Sophia watched him go, before turning back around to head into the woods. She had only made it a few yards, when her connection to Ruby suddenly reattached. Feeling weak from relief, Sophia quickly bombarded her with questions.

'Ruby!' What happened? Why couldn't I reach you?'

The sound of chuckling came across the link. 'Because I was busy saving that good-for-nothing mate of yours.'

Sophia paused as she rested a hand against a tree, Anxiety filling her. 'Saving him…? Is he okay now?'

'He's got one hell of a headache and is about ready to tear this town apart to find you, but he's going to be okay. The bullet he was shot with contained a type of poison that not only was keeping him from healing, but it also paralyzed his telepathy.'

'Yeah, I ran into something similar with Presley. She's currently heading back to the Mansion. We split up so she'll be coming from a different direction than me.'

'What direction are you going to be coming from?'

Sophia didn't answer, instead, she filled Ruby in on what had happened. About her finding Presley, to talking to David Van Halen, to the appearance of Damien.

'Well, if at least one thing has come from all this, we now have somewhat of an idea of what we're up against. I'll be sure to tell everyone what you just told me.'

Sophia rubbed her head tiredly, seeing her goal up ahead. 'Alright. Look, as much as I'm dying to figure out what exactly you did to heal Luke, I'm going to need to break off. This long-distance thing is starting to give me a headache and I can't afford that right now. Do me a favor though… tell Luke I love him.'

'Okay, Sophia. I will. Please don't let anything else happen to you, and find your way back safely.'

'Don't worry, I'll be there before you realize it.' Sophia pulled herself out of the tree line and into the vacant open. Walking down the bank to the lake's edge. Listening to the soothing way it lapped at the earth beneath her bare feet. 

She stood there for a moment. Taking in the expanse of water stretching out in front of her, and the tree line visible on the other side. The tree line, which just happened to be between the Mansion and the Lake… A tree line that was a good mile away across the waters of Wolf Lake.

 Looking back up at the unnatural moon gleaming down at her, she sighed. Knowing she didn't have much of a choice. 

'I found a short-cut.' 

With that, Sophia pulled out of the mind merge, and resolutely stepped into the water's edge.

****** 

Ruby frowned slightly at Sophia's cryptic remark as she pulled herself out of the merge. Her head already swimming for having held the contact as long as she did.

She sank back against the loveseat, and reached for the bottle of aspirin resting on the end table beside her that Shawn had fetched for her from the bathroom's medicine cabinet. Quickly swallowing a few.

"Is she okay?" Luke asked anxiously. Pacing back and forth in front of her.

"She's fine. In fact, she's better than fine. Her and Presley have already escaped."

A few sounds of relief came from the general direction of Matt and Vivian, as Sherman spoke up. "Presley is with her?"

"Not exactly. They spilt up. Going two different directions. Sophia said that they had some help from a Hunter named Damien. He basically saved their lives."

Luke closed his eyes in relief and flopped back down on the couch. Still a little light-headed, but thanks to the patch-up job that Ruby had given him, he was steadily gaining back his strength, if not his telepathy.

"Where is she now?" he asked quietly. His head still resting against his palm as he muttered the question.

"She didn't tell me exactly, only that she'll be here soon."

Luke nodded. Frustration evident. He needed his mental link to her. He needed to talk to her. Hold her. Know that she was safe, or he was going to go mad. The lack of their private connection cut him to the bone. Slicing him right through to where his heart was. That pain wouldn't ease till he had her back with him.

Ruby steeled herself for what she had to say next. "There are some other things I need to inform you of though, before she gets here. She found out some things about the Hunters and what weapons they have against us."

Seeing that she had everyone's attention, she began to repeat everything that Sophia had told her.

******

Damien held his head up high as he casually walked down a separate corridor hidden within the small complex that had just recently lost its purpose. He could hear some of the men gathering what few items that were in the building in some of the rooms that he passed, in their preparation of leaving within the next hour. Leaving for some pre-destined location that none of them had yet to be informed of.

Having changed from the casual outfit of earlier, his recently replaced boots-of-choice made clicking noises against the tile from the impact of the heel. A black leather duster swirled out behind him as he made his way further down the hallway. Lean hips and muscular thighs encased in leather pants of the same color. He had replaced the simple long-sleeve shirt with a black turtleneck that clung to a perfectly formed chest like a second skin. The ever-present gun strapped at his hip, was in plain sight through the opening of the duster. His eyes once again frigid chips of black diamonds. No emotion whatsoever painted across his expression as he neared the end of the corridor, a hand reaching out to turn the knob on the door there. Once it had swung open, he stepped inside.

"Damien," David Van Halen greeted from where he was seated at his desk. Looking over some piece of information or of the like on his private laptop. He slowly closed the lid as he studied the younger man as he sat down in a chair across from his boss. Leaning back in a casual position, fingers interlaced in his lap, and legs spread out in front of him. One ankle hooked over the other. An expression of boredom glittering in that icy gaze. The lines of his mouth sensual, yet at the same time extremely cruel.

David couldn't help but smile at the younger man's complete lack of fear of his superior. While the other Hunters almost cowered in front of their leader, this one treated him no differently then he did his orders. No emotions and complete lack of any humanity. It was something that David had contemplated killing him for, if it wasn't for him being one of the best Hunters that he'd seen in a long time. 

That and the fact that the boy was his son, and would one day take his father's place.

Blood ties could be quite pesky at times.

David leaned back to observe the insolent posture of his son, and cocked his head to the side. Steepling his fingers together contemplatively. 

"Did everything go as planned?"

David plucked off a piece of lint from the fabric of his turtleneck stretched over his abdomen nonchalantly. Causing his elder's jaw to tighten at his indifference.

"Of course." Damien's tone was now noticeably insulted. He looked back up at David.

"I **_always _**carry out my orders to the letter. You know better than to even ask me that."

David continued as though he hadn't heard the insult coming from his offspring's lips.

"And the injection…?"

Damien sighed in exasperation, as he rolled his eyes upwards to the ceiling. Tilting his head back to rest on the top of the chair. Studying the water stains on the ceiling.

"…was injected into the blonde, as ordered. Don't worry." Damien dropped his head back down to look at his father mockingly. "Your microchip is in place."

"I'm surprised that the dark headed one didn't give you more trouble than she did."

Damien shrugged. "Yeah, well… she was a little bit more interested in getting **_out _**of here before midnight." A rare-but-brief smile flitted across those lips. "Did you have to become so melodramatic with that bit?"

David raised an eyebrow. "It produced the desired affect. Now, she's going to go back to all her friends, tell them about the drugs and stones we have at our disposal, start a panic, and will then set the entire Pack on the run."

Damien tilted his head down and looked at his father under the lock of long black hair that had fallen into his face.

"Are you sure it was a good idea for me to tell her all that stuff? I mean, if it's going to prompt them to go on the run…"

"The microchip in the blonde will enable us to track their progress. As it is, they'll probably head north, across the border into Canada. And as soon as they're a far enough distance from Wolf Lake…" David spread his hands out to the side, grinning. "Hunting season begins."

Damien smirked humorlessly. His tone mocking. "Whatever happened to killing the humans as well that lived around the Skinwalkers? Those that have seen who knows how many strange occurrences in their boring little lives?"

David shrugged his shoulders. "Those days ended when their technology became too strong. As much as I would prefer, wiping out Wolf Lake isn't an option. And it won't even have to be one when the Skinwalkers all leave."

David stood and came over to stand in front of his son. Pulling on his coat in preparation to leave. His gaze calculative as he studied him.

"You know, I only told you about the mistake that our Ancestor made because I wanted you to realize his weakness to keep it from ever happening to you. I'm I going to regret my decision?"

Damien threw back his head and started to laugh. The sound chilling enough to make even send a shiver up his sire's spine.

Still chuckling, Damien looked up at him. "You know better than to even ask that question, now don't you?"

David shrugged indifferently. "Just making sure."

All amusement fled, leaving Damien's eyes black with shivering coldness so fast that David had a hard time not taking a step back from the animosity glowing there.

"Don't ever question my loyalty again to the Hunters, Father. Or I might be forced to show you just how little I have of it for you." Despite the soft, dangerous quality to his words, David couldn't help but be pleased at Damien's words.

"Well spoken, my son. Well spoken." With that, he opened the door and started to strode on out. 

"What makes you think they'll run? I mean, they have it pretty good in this little town for them to want to give that all up without a fight."

David paused in the doorway. "Because they've never done well under pressure. They'd rather run with their tail between their legs, than risk confronting us and losing their unique abilities. One thing they can't stand is to be weakened to the state of humans. And one thing we can't afford is for them to find out the truth about the size of our ranks." 

David turned away, leaving Damien sitting there, staring at the bare wall on the far side of the room. Reaching into his pocket, he slowly pulled out a small strip of flannel. Fingers absently playing with the material as shadows of memories danced across the usually frozen surface of his obsidian eyes. Temporarily causing them to thaw, if only for a moment.

******

A few minutes later, after Ruby had become silent once more, the heaviness in the room built till it could have been cut with a knife. Luke was still sprawled on the couch next to Shawn. Both of them looking around at the others as they all tried to comprehend what Ruby had just told them.

Matt placed his palms over the mantel, and was staring down into the still glowing embers. Barely even seeing them as Vivian stood at his side. Her hand unconsciously wrapped around the security of his wrist.  Sherman stood at the doorway. Arms folded across his chest, and his head bowed. His heart heavy with the knowledge of just how dangerous the weapons of the Hunters had become.

"So," Vivian was the first to break the silence. "What you're telling me is, we can't sense them, so therefore we can't stop them from ambushing us. We can't use our telepathy to communicate with each other because they can take that away from us as well. And if those two weren't bad enough, they have two other drugs that have the power to keep our wounds from healing, and assuming our true forms." Vivian started to shake her head. Chuckling sardonically, her hand slid down off Matt's shoulder, and she crossed her arms in front of her over the simple terry-cloth robe that she had pulled out of the hallway closet.

"Basically reducing all of our talents to nothing. And making us as easy to pick off as the humans." All sarcasm fled as Vivian fought within herself to make a decision. Looking at everyone else in the room. "Well, I'm not going to let that happen to us. I won't watch this Pack fall apart."

"What do you purpose we do?" John spoke up for the first time in awhile. His arms was still wrapped securely around Ruby's bare shoulders. Finger playing absently in her hair.

Vivian looked away from them to glance outside the broken window into the dark forest beyond that had been their home for so long. "As soon as we get Sophia back, we need to move her and Ruby to secure locations. As soon as that's taken care of, I'll alert the Pack to these dangers we've just spoken of. Then, I'll contact everyone on a personal note, in order to avoid Tyler overhearing it."

Matt turned away from the fireplace to look at her in confusion. "What do you mean, what personal note?" He saw Sherman moving in closer out of the corner of his eye, and Matt had a bad feeling that he knew exactly what Vivian was talking about.

"Contact them about what, Mom?" Luke asked, turning to look at them both. Bare arm slung over the back of the couch.

Vivian's gaze softened a little when she looked at her son. She turned back to look at Matt. He wasn't going to like this. None of them would. But right now, it didn't seen as if they had a choice. She wouldn't risk the extinction of her people. And as much as she had tried to fight this, it had really been the only option available since the presence of the Hunters had been revealed. She had been foolish to believe otherwise.

"About the immediate evacuation of the Pack from Wolf Lake." She looked grimly at everyone in the room, and them shook her head in disbelief at her own words. Having never thought she would ever say them.

"We're running."

***************************************** 

While I am typing this, it is currently past one in the morning, and I'm about to sue my Muse! I'm still mad about him tricking me with these last two, and I don't plan on forgiving him anytime soon. (Male muse currently standing tall, arms folded arrogantly over his chest. *Yeah, let's see how long it takes you till you're crawling back to me. You know you need me.* Me shaking fist at Muse threateningly. *Hey! YOU'RE the one that kept me up this late. I was supposed to be in bed four hours ago! I wouldn't be counting too heavily on your value to me, seeing as people have been known to do crazy things when they're sleep deprived!* Muse raises brow at this, but has the decency to release me from my computer for the night, and crawl back into the hole in which he came from. Me brandishing my Omni Spiral notebook over his hole, preparing to 'whack' him if he sticks his head back out again anytime soon.)

Oh, man. This was like the ep. that would never end, let me tell you. I still can't believe I did **more **than double the writing for the two-part ep. and in only a week. When it always takes me at least two weeks to do **half **of what I've done here. I have never been this exhausted from writing a story before. Despite how much fun it's been.

Anyway, after this, there will be the finale episode, followed by the shorter epilogue that will wrap everything up on a softer note, seeing as how the next ep, is going to be explosive, and is going to end as such. 

'Course, that is the **_Plan, _**which my Muse seems all to well inclined to change on me whenever the mood strikes him. So I've given up on trying to promise anything.

The next part will be Chapter 13, Ep. 20 – "Destiny Of A Myth"  (The myth being the Skinwalkers, of course)

Hopefully I'll get it out for all of you soon. Until then, don't forget to leave a review for me. Get descriptive, as those reviews ALWAYS make my day. Tell me what you're favorite part was, or if there is anything else that you want me to touch upon in the series before it ends. Let me know if anything is still confusing for you, and I'll do my best to flesh it out for you.

Oh, and don't forget to tell me what you think of Damien…(wicked grin) He is what happens to you at one in the morning, when you've had **_way_** too many spice drops (you know, those small, different colored chewy cones that are frosted with sugar? Mostly found on gingerbread houses and Christmas delights.) Oh, and eggnog. Don't forget the eggnog. I could main-line the stuff. To me it's the best part about the Holidays! (grin)

Take care! Until next time…!

(Sapphira)


	13. Ep 20, Destiny Of A Myth

# Chapter Thirteen, Ep. 20 – "Destiny Of A Myth"

Author's Note - Before we begin, I would like to point out to you guys, that I have two new stories that I've posted. One is entitled "Welcome To Wolf Lake", which is kinda a prequel to the actual TV series, and explains itself in the Author's Note… and another is a short story for Buffy the Vampire Slayer... it is entitled "Reflections of the Past" and you can link into it through my bio page. 

I wrote this one night, in one sitting (took me about three hours) for all my fans that are also lovers of this series. It's kinda getting the silent treatment right now, so I'm hoping that those of you that are familiar with the series, will take a few minutes to read it. It's Buffy's viewpoint one night, on all the men that she's loved. her Father, Angel, Giles, good-for-nothing Riley, (sorry, I just had to slap that in there. Not a big Riley fan.) and those in-between. But it sort of became very much a A/B, slightly depressing, slightly sappy, possibly tear jerking fic. So, for those of you that are fans of the Slayer and her Angel; I hope you'll enjoy it! Please review. My goals for Reflections is for it to reach at least 10 -15 reviews. that would make me very happy, and would restore my belief in that even short stories can get a somewhat decent amount of reviews.  
  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. and (you guessed it) don't forget to review! Sorry, I just had to say that again... and be warned, I'll say it YET again at the end of this ep. Consider it your credits, seeing as how I am scriptwriter, director, producer, costume provider (hey, can't have then running around naked ALL the time) and music conductor rolled all into one very impressive, sexy package! *lol*  
  
And I am SO sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. Thank you for being so patient with me... as consolation, this is an extra long episode. Definitely the longest one I've done without being too long, and therefore warranting being broken up into two parts. 

Just consider it an episode aired without any commercial interruption.  
  
Also, rating goes up due to violence and. other things. (wink)  
  
Enjoy! 

***

Summery – When Vivian, Luke, and Sophia's lives are threatened, Matt will have to make a decision about his rightful position within the Pack… Enemies will be revealed, allies created, relationships tested, and decisions made, the will forever change the course of the Pack's future…

~~~

Sophia had known the water would be cold, but she hadn't realized just _how _cold till she couldn't even feel her body as her limbs pumped under the liquid surface, slicing efficiently through the still waters of Wolf Lake. The glow from the Crimson moon above casting a sickly shade of red across the expanse stretching out in front of her almost endlessly. 

Sophia ducked her head back down, refusing to look at the shoreline so far off, and instead focused on moving. Breathing. Continuously reaching out for that shore in long strokes. Pacing herself as she slowly pulled closer. Skinwalker strength and the internal thermometer gage coming in handy, considering her predicament. But she didn't know how long she would be able to fight the frigidness of the water around her… Knowing that if she was human, it would have only taken a few minutes for hypothermia to set in.

Her jeans were heavy with the cold weight, encased and pulling hard around her hips, dragging her back, so quickly making a decision, she reached her numb fingers down to the zipper, her legs still pumping strongly in the water. A few jerks and pulls and they slid effortlessly off of her lower body. Revealing her pale, chilled skin to the freakishly tinted liquid. The denim fabric sinking into the fathomless depths of the reddish black abyss.

Sophia continued in her swim. Never pausing to rest. Knowing that her only assurance at the moment was to keep moving on. Keep swimming. Keep kicking. Keep slicing through the water soundlessly in the surrounding darkness.

Keep breathing.

****** 

"How are you holding up?"

Vivian started slightly from where she was standing on the back porch. Turning in the surrounding darkness to look back at Matt as he stood silhouetted in the door. Eyes dark with emotion as he observed her acknowledging his presence.

Vivian turned back to look over the now-alien forest. Shrugging one shoulder. "As well as can be expected, considering I almost lost my son tonight, and I've had to make the hardest decision of my life."

Matt slowly stepped out of the shadows of the doorframe to come stand behind her. His steps silent and the heat of his body pressing comfortingly into Vivian's back. Even through the thick terrycloth robe that she had wrapped herself up in. 

Following her gaze upwards, Matt's jaw tightened reflexively as his eyes traced the outline of the blood red moon leering down at them in all its prophetic glory.

Dropping his eyes from the depressing sight, he brought his warm, slightly calloused palms down gently on her shoulders, pulling her back up against him. Smiling softly as he heard the small sigh escaping her lips, the tension leaving her body.

Vivian closed her eyes against all her doubts and fears, concerns and dilemmas, instincts and unmade choices, and allowed herself to be comforted. Turning in his arms, Matt smiled deepened as he looked down at her as she tilted her chin up to look at him. Eyes glittering delicately in the muted light.

No words were spoken as they met each other half way. His lips descending on hers as she tilted her head gently to the side, lips parting in a small sigh as they kissed. Putting any of her concerns that he would try to take back what they had shared earlier in the forest to rest.

She felt his fingers entwine deep into the thick mass of her hair. Fingers warm against the back of her neck and scalp. Sending shivers down her spine. Vivian smiled against his lips as they became slightly more insistent. Giving in to the sensations flooding her body, she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. Never wanting it to end.

When they finally did part, Matt gently pressed his palm against the back of her head as she buried her face into his shoulder. Still not wanting to turn loose.

Matt rested his chin on the top of her head, breathing the smell of her hair in deeply. Continuing to hold her in his arms. His eyes trailed back up to the unnatural moon shining above, and his thoughts strayed to yet another problem that they were all faced with.

He reflected back on earlier in the day and what Sherman had shown them in regards to the group of Skinwalkers that wanted to overthrow Vivian as the Alpha, and he couldn't stop the protectiveness welling up inside of him. Not only towards Vivian, but the Pack as well. The last thing that they needed was the loss of a leader right now. And considering what the views were of those that wanted to remove Vivian from power were… No, they didn't need that. Not now. Not ever.

The threat would have to be removed, and quickly. But how? There was no way they would put up with a female leader for long. They would either kill her, or have to be killed themselves. Things were already bad enough; they didn't have to add self-genocide to the list. And, to be honest, those males couldn't be blamed. In a Pack, a male ruled as Alpha, with the strongest female of the Pack and of his age at his side. It was the way they were. The way they had been for thousands of years. Had survived for the last few hundred. The number-one instinct for their species that were more animal than human, and made no attempt to appear bothered by being what they were.

So how to get Vivian out of this mess, without her or any other getting killed?

**_You already know the answer to that. _******

Matt closed his eyes more against those words flitting through his mind, rather than the view of the night sky. Yes, he _did _know the answer to that question. 

He knew it wouldn't be long before the group made their move.

Problem was, did he have the strength to finally do what needed to be done when they did? Take Vivian at his side, and become the leader he _should_ have been almost twenty years ago? After all these years of fighting who he was for the oh-so-precious love of his human and very mortal wife, and the daughter that they had created together. Who, against all odds, had become one of the most powerful females the Pack had ever seen, even though that she had yet to come fully into that power? Who had discovered her destiny, here in this strange town and within the folds of the Pack, and had embraced it. 

Now, could he do the same? Embrace the destiny he had left behind so long ago?

Glancing down at the strong woman he held protectively in his arms – a woman who probably wasn't going to be too happy with the idea of losing her recently awarded position – a steely-eyed look of determination came over his eyes. Turning them as hard and as emotionless as ice, as he pulled her closer into the strength of his arms.

**_Oh yeah. _**

_ _

_ _

****** 

Ruby let out a groan as she stretched her leg out beside her on the couch. Her thigh protesting sharply. Newly knit muscles cramping against the strain she had placed on her leg this evening. 

She inhaled quickly against the pain, the breath catching in her throat as she finally got it positioned carefully. John looked over at her in concern, his fingers coming up to brush back a stray lock of mahogany colored hair away from her pale face.

"Are you okay?"

Ruby nodded gently, smiling at his concern, as she leaned her cheek into the warmth of his palm. "Yeah, I'm okay." she whispered as she leaned back against John, pressing her cheek up against the bare golden skin of his chest. "Every bad thing that happened tonight has appeared to work out for the best. I just hope that Sophia gets back here soon. Luke looks like he's about ready to explode."

John smiled as he watched Ruby close her eyes and felt the tension leave her body. Running his fingers through her hair absently, his gaze traveled over to where Luke was pacing in the entryway, in front of the door. Unaware of the superficial cuts that were being inflicted upon his bare feet from the sharp pieces of glass littering the hardwood floor. Cuts that would clot, heal, and disappear within seconds, before being replaced with new ones. He still only wore that pair of jeans that were heavy with water and covered with blood. The play of muscles in his back revealed his tenseness, his desire to leap out into the night air, and track Sophia down himself. It was taking a lot of restraint – and the watchful stance of Sherman nearby – to keep him from doing just that.

John understood what the kid was going through. 

He looked back down at Ruby, noticing how even her breaths had become.

"Are you going to sleep?" He murmured softly against the top of her head. His breath stirring the long dark strands of silk nestled there. He felt more than saw the minute shake of her head, followed by a small grunt of denial. Still not opening her eyes.

John smile deepened, and he continued to stroke her hair, just happy to hold her, as her body still fell asleep in contradiction to what her mind had determined otherwise.

****** 

Sophia had never been so happy in all her life to be on dry land.

Falling to her hands and knees in an attempt to redeem her struggling gasps for air, for calming, deep breathes. Still having a hard time believing that she had just done what she had. 

Looking back across the expanse of water she had just swam through, she felt the reasonable urge just to crumble into one big heap in the leaf-covered dirt and not get up for a week.

Instead, she pushed herself back up onto her haunches, still kneeling, and tilted her face up towards the night sky, refusing to look at that excuse for a moon as she shook her long, wet, and severely tangled hair back from her face. Not even bothering with trying to remove the bits of leaves and debris that had become matted in the long strands… and no, after swimming the length of that lake, she did NOT want to know what that slimy stuff was caked at her temple.

Having finally succeeded in regaining some control over her aching lunges, she used a thin, nearby tree to help pull herself up and into a standing position. Her legs and arms were trembling violently. Both from the chill of the water, and the exhaustion in her muscles from such a strenuous swim.

Leaning her shivering back against the tree for support, Sophia tried to figure out just how far she was from the Cates' Mansion, and whether or not she could make it, considering how bad a shape she was in.

As if in answer to her question, her legs gave out from underneath her, and sent her sprawling back down to the moist floor.

Looking down wryly at herself, she realized that she was going to have to shift if she wanted to get back to Luke and her father sometime this century.

Her fingers were trembling so badly, it took her a few precious moments to slip the buttons out of their respective holes on her sopping shirt. Slowly peeling it away from her chilled skin, her body shuddered at the loss of even that small, pathetic excuse of a barrier against the cold night air. She reached her fingers up to briefly touch the crystal pendant swinging from her throat. Relieved to know it was still there.

Dropping her mangled and torn blouse unceremoniously back into the lake, she decided that she never wanted to see it again. 

After peeling away her underwear, she didn't waste anytime with the Change. She welcomed the sense of dryness and heat that crept up to soothe away the wet cold, when that thick, luxurious, **_warm_**pelt replaced her skin. Bringing with it the strength and power that chased away the weakness and exhaustion she had been subjected to earlier.

Suddenly revitalized, she quickly darted deeper into the forest. Her wolven instincts focused on only one thing.

Tracking down her mate.

****** 

"What good do you think you're doing by pacing like a mad man?" Sherman asked wryly, from where he was seated on the one of the bottom steps of the staircase. Watching Luke with something akin to amusement written on his expressive face. He had already sent Shawn home. Told him to remain with his family for the next few hours. 

Despite the amount of blood transfused, Shawn's weakness quickly dissipated as his body replaced the blood loss automatically. Something that Luke's had been too weakened to do.

Luke growled at him, yanking his fingers through his short hair in frustration. "Pacing is the only thing that is _keeping _me from going mad. What the hell is taking her so damn long?"

Sherman's brow quirked at that comment. "Oh, I don't know. Being kidnapped, held captive for several hours, and then barely managing to escape from being tortured might have that effect on a girl."

Luke finally did stop. His hands resting on his hips as his eyes flickered dangerously at the older man. Sherman just stared back innocently.

"Blackstone, you're not helping." Dropping his hands back down to his sides, he continued his pacing, turning his back towards Sherman as he walked down the hallway.

"And that's not what I meant!" He shouted back over his shoulder as he disappeared into the shadows, before turning back around and walking swiftly towards the shattered door still hanging by one hinge, revealing the reddish blackness of the night and forest beyond only to stop again at the threshold. His hands catching at the doorframe like a lifeline… the only thing keeping him from going out there. The stretched tightness of his muscles across the back portion of his shoulders apparent as they rippled under his skin.

Sherman leaned his elbows back on the step above the one he was perched on. Letting out a sigh of bemusement. "Well, at least it's never boring in this town." He murmured quietly to himself. Shaking his head as he watched Luke move to stand in front of the open doorframe. His pale green eyes shifting to glowing yellow in order to use his highly advanced sight to seek out any body heat from within the forest. His body tense as he waited.

****** 

Soft panting was the only sound that Sophia made as her white wolven body shot fluidly through the foliage. Careful to watch for any signs of traps or humans – or, primarily, Hunters – in her way. Muscles bunching and stretching beneath her pelt, her entire body sleek and powerful as it slipped through the night, leaving hardly a trace of her passing.

As she paused to quickly pinpoint her location, her heart suddenly quickened as she caught sight of the Mansion… and the rather distinctive scent of her mate's blood.

All other thoughts fled as her instincts pressed her to make her way quickly the Luke. Anything else was unimportant. 

Quickly shedding her pelt, she made a run for it on slender but strong bare legs, arms pumping at her side as she cut through the remainder of the forest, dodging the thinning trees and their limbs.

And then she was out in the open… only a few hundred feet separating her from the entryway of the Mansion – and Luke's silhouette in the doorway, waiting for her.

A grin breaking across her face, as she saw his face immediately turn towards her, and his eyes lock onto her movements.

So thrilled was she to see that he was still alive, still breathing, and she failed to comply fast enough to what her sudden burst of instinct warned her of – and Luke's enraged howl – when a dark form suddenly swooped in from behind her, one very strong and muscular arm coming around her waist with enough impact to cause Sophia to lose her breath, the strength from the bruising grip around her torso causing her to immediately double, her feet leaving the ground as she was hauled back against an unfamiliar chest and pinned in place. Bare feet dangling a few inches above the ground.

Swinging her hair back from her down-turned face, Sophia got her feet back on the ground, and came back up screaming, bucking and kicking against her attacker. Sharp nails seeking purchase in any exposed skin she could locate.

****** 

Luke _did _sense the attack coming, but far too late.

As he watched the attacker slink out of the bushes at inhuman speed, he couldn't stop the roar of outrage that exited his mouth, accompanied by Sophia's shrieking as she fought off the grip of her capture.

Instinct taking over, Luke lunged off of the front porch – Changing partially to give him the added benefit of increased strength and speed – his lips forming into a snarl and his eyes burning furiously.

He was intent upon attacking the one currently attacking Sophia… so intent, that he failed to notice another attack… aimed at him.

And this time, the attacker was in full wolf form.

****** 

Sophia screamed as she witnessed a large wolf the color of gun metal hit Luke from the side, knocking him off his feet and into the ground, where he was rolled underneath the snapping jaws and heavy press of the bloodthirsty creature.

Fighting in earnest now, Sophia let out a snarl as she struggled to free herself. Screaming in frustration when her attacker was joined by two others in an effort to keep her from getting loose. Her anger spilling over on the private and public mental paths that she was linked to. Alerting those inside – even if they hadn't already heard her screams – to what was happening outside.

And all three of her captures were Skinwalker. Still in their human forms, but the wildness that was their trademark scent clung to their flesh. Causing Sophia to see red.

Sophia watched in horror as Luke struggled with the large, older and thus more powerful male wolf, human body contorted with his partial Change, and visible signs of wounds starting to appear in bloody slashes. Holding his own against the attack, despite his weakening.

So intent was she on the sight of Luke fighting for his life – and hers – that she failed to see her father come barreling around the corner, in full wolf mode, all four wolven legs pumping, his body a blur… but she did see him as he hit the larger male attacking Luke… Taking him one on one.

He was quickly joined by a smaller, pale gray female that first came over to hover protectively beside Luke, and then turned towards the two snarling and growling masses of fur fighting for supremacy. 

Eyes flickering red in the reflected color of the moonlight, a growl rumbled in Vivian's wolven throat as she threw herself at the back of the attacking male in retaliation for her son, only to have the following happen faster than she could draw a single breath;

Matt saw her coming – and quickly knocking the gunmetal colored wolf out of the way to land hard in the chilled and muddy ground – he grasped the flying wolf that was Vivian by the scruff of her neck, yanking her back down and away from danger – literally pinning her underbelly to the wet grass. 

Ignoring her surprised yelp, Matt shook her threateningly. Teeth clamped hard, but not breaking the skin. His yellow eyes burning brightly down into hers.

'Stay out of this, Viv!'

The command was hard and firm as it echoed within Vivian's mind. She lay there for a moment, slightly dazed as she watched Matt turn away from her and lunge towards the other male as he lifted himself out of the muck – his fur coming away covered in the goop – and trying to slink towards Sophia, who was still caught within the grasp of the three other males. Realizing that Matt was bearing down hard on him, he turned and met him head-on. Teeth snapping for purchase in the thick fur.

Coming to her senses, Vivian realized what was happening, and she slinked over to crouch beside Luke, her stance protective as she guarded her son from the possibility of any other attack. He was cut up and winded, but still alive.

Watching Matthew fight off the challenging male, Vivian was able to recollect her thoughts and put together what she was seeing. This group of Skinwalkers that had attacked Sophia and Luke, were the same that she had seen earlier in the day. The same group that had been trying to create an underhanded plot to remove Vivian from power, and kill her son, the last of Willard's line. That's why they had gone after capturing Sophia first, as she was the unofficial mate to Luke, and blackmail against her father.

Even though they were still very young, they weren't going to risk the possibility of Sophia carrying a pup by Luke, and thus continuing the Cates' line… or her father's wrath, who had made it plain that he stood by Vivian and Luke. Protecting her son – who could very well be the future Alpha – and herself. 

But they hadn't expected Matt to come at them under a different pretext. That of a defending Alpha male.

Eyes narrowing, Vivian crouched lower by her son. Eyes shifting constantly for any possible attack towards her young.

Luke managed to clear the cobwebs from his brain as he looked around. Zooming in on the shape of two large male wolves battling it out, and then turning towards Sophia, who was still fighting against the grip of the three holding her captive. 

They were now trying to pull her into the edge of the forest – obviously in an attempt to secret her off somewhere – and Luke's blood began to boil. The slender line of silver gray fur that ran down his bare backbone – seeing as how he was currently half man, half wolf – bristled in agitation. The fangs that had sprouted from his jaws bared and glistening in the night, his eyes burning yellow.

Pulling himself up, he started to stalk towards where his mate was being held captive, only to have Vivian cut him off, quickly flipping back into her human shape to restrain him. The gold in her eyes and the sharpness of her nails communicating to him just how close her inner wolf was to the surface.

"Do not!" she hissed at her son, ignoring the way he growled at her in warning to back off. She locked her gaze with him, trying to get his attention.

"Ruby and John will take care of Sophia, Luke. Trust me." Vivian whispered softly but firmly. Ignoring the snarling, rabid sounds of Matt and the other wolf still struggling with one another. 

As much as she wanted to see who was winning, she didn't turn away from Luke, knowing that if she did, he would run to Sophia's side… and precede to get them all slaughtered.

"She's mine!" Luke's primal words were barely audible around the constant rumblings deep in his throat, but Vivian heard it. Heard it, and understood.

"I know, Luke. But Ruby is your sister and is connected to Sophia in a way that we could **_never_** understand. If you won't trust me, trust her. She won't let anything happen to your mate."

****** 

Sophia couldn't believe what she was witnessing.

Her father was currently locked in the throes of what appeared to be a battle to the death. Both him and the attacking wolf showed signs of cuts and bite marks in their skin, leaking blood. But neither was backing down… and neither were giving signs of tiring anytime soon.

Sophia winced as she felt the bruising grip of the males restraining her, and realized they were slowly but surely pulling her towards the edge of the forest.

"No…" Sophia's denial was wrung out from her throat, as she tried to fight harder. Trying to buy herself more time.

Lashing out with one foot at the guy in front of her – and hearing the grunt that followed – flooded Sophia with confidence as she raked her sharpened nails down the cheek of the other. 

Feeling his grip loosen just a tad, Sophia bucked hard against the guy with his arm around her waist, fingers biting into her hip, and brought her suddenly released arm up into his face. Elbow breaking the cartilage of his nose with a sickening snap.

Letting out a yelp, the arm fell away from her bruised, naked waist, giving Sophia the opportunity to duck and leap away. Rolling in the grass as she came back up on her hands and knees instinctively a short distance away, facing the three pissed off males that were lunging for her.

Sophia knew she couldn't fight them off. Knew she didn't have a chance against them if she remained in her human form, so her body quickly began to shift as she made another lunge to the side. White fur beginning to spread over her human skin as her body began to contort as she felt the claws of one male rake across her shifting back in an effort to grab a hold of her. The sharp, stinging pain punishing her for having slashed his face. She sensed more than saw another blow coming, and knew she wouldn't be able to get out of the way in time before it fell.

But that hand never made contact with her again, as he was attacked from the shadows by one very pissed off black male wolf. Knocking the surprised Skinwalker to the ground, unable to defend himself against the snap and tear of the wolf as he drove forward. Ripping through skin, muscle, and cartilage, striving forward to the bone, Sophia flinched as she heard the bone snap. The appendage almost completely removed from the forearm.

Ignoring the screams of the disabled Skinwalker, The black wolf turned towards the other two males… both in various states of the Change in order to deal with the black male that had suddenly interfered with the capture of their prey.

Sophia view of the fight was cut off, when Ruby suddenly leapt out beside her. Blocking the younger female's body with her own protectively.

Choosing to revert back to human form, Sophia sat there, panting on the grass, while Ruby hovered close by. Her white fur constantly brushing up against Sophia's skin as she pushed her back up against a tree. Waiting and watching as the males continued in their battle.

Sophia craned her neck around to see where John was at, only to have Ruby block her view yet again. Looking up in confusion, Sophia met the silver-blue eyes… and understood. Nodding her head slowly, she turned to see what was happening between her father and the gunmetal wolf that must have been running this operation.

And to see that that battle was finally coming to an end.

****** 

Vivian kept one hand pressed to Luke's shoulder to keep him from leaping the distance separating him from Sophia, all the while keeping her eyes on Matt and the attacking male… Trying to run him down through a mental list in her brain, in the hopes she could figure out who he was. There was something about him… Something that brushed up against her memory, but every time she reached for it, it floated out and beyond her grasp like the mist.

Lips parted and eyes still shining like embers, she watched and waited. Listening to the conflict. Witnessing the weakening in the strange male, the surge of strength from Matt. The shimmering glow from teeth snapping through fur to seek purchase in flesh. The shock of blood staining both pelts so badly, that Vivian didn't know upon which the injury had been inflicted upon.

Her breath caught in her throat when Matt leapt away from the gunmetal wolf, only to have that breath exhale in a flood of relief when she saw the attacking wolf slink back. Deep wounds torn through the muscles of his shoulders and flank. Wounds that could have been lethal, if Matt had wanted them to be.

"Why doesn't he kill him?" Luke growled out between tightly clenched teeth. The control he had reinstated on himself minimal at best.

"Be quiet." Vivian's words broke for no argument. Shooting a heated glare at her son, she stepped away from him. Her eyes ordering him to remain put. Swinging back around, she took a step towards Matthew.

****** 

Sophia looked on. Confused at what she was seeing play out.

'What's happening?' she asked Ruby across their private mental path.

Ruby's answer was grim. 'What has to.'

****** 

Sherman rested his hip against the doorframe, his mouth a grim line as he waited to see what would happen.

Tradition of the Pack stated, that if any potential male posed a threat to the Alpha's status and life, or the life of those under his protection, then he had to be killed. Not even Matthew would fight that. Not even he would attempt to interfere in that. Just like he hadn't back on the night of the Election… when after the two primary males had been either eliminated or… disabled… by those two brothers, and Vivian had taken it upon herself to 'remove' that threat to the Clan… Killing them, and thereby making her the Leader of the Pack by right of succession and elimination. 

Matt hadn't interfered then. Because no matter how much he tried to be human, and live by the human laws… in the end, survival of the Pack was everything.

But Matt wasn't the Alpha. Therefore, the life of this male belonged to Vivian. Hers to kill, hers to overthrow. Which was why she was walking so confidently towards the two now. Never mind the rather forceful warning that Matt had given her earlier. Never mind that it had been him that had defeated this one. It was her right as Alpha to end these traitors' lives. Her right, and her duty, and Vivian honestly believed that Matthew wasn't going to interfere in that.

Because if he did, he would automatically be assuming that it was _he _that was now the Alpha, and her life was forfeit to him.

Matt stood there in the night. Head held high, and his strange eyes never leaving Vivian as she walked closer. Confident in her position. The position that she believed he would never take from her.

Before she could come any closer, Matt broke the hold of their gazes, and turned around. Padding over to the severely injured gunmetal wolf. Ignoring his defensive growls. He knew what would have happened if and when he was defeated, so Matthew was unable to find any pity from within himself towards the male that had planned on hiding behind his daughter, before killing her, and everyone else that Matt cared about.

Vivian stopped. Bare feet rooted to the ground as she looked on in sudden confusion. Not understanding at first what was happening, but then her eyes narrowed as her lips parted with a hiss. And she understood.

And to say she wasn't happy was an understatement. 

****** 

Sophia had her eyes on her dad the entire time as she saw him slowly approach the wounded male wolf. His steps precise as he padded closer. His gaze as hard and emotionless as glass.

He turned once to look at her, where she was curled up against the tree. Dark hair clinging to the sides of her face and neck. Small cuts and bruises visible on her body from her recent struggle. She could feel the blood trickling down her back from the claw marks sported there.

Sophia didn't understand why he had looked at her that way. At least, not at that moment. Later on she would think back on it, and it would be only then that she would understand the truth behind those hardened eyes.

He had gathered himself together in determination. Steeling himself for what was to come. He was taking that first step down the road of his destiny… the one that he hadn't been able to face for the last 17 years.

And he had gotten his strength from her. From seeing whom it was that he had protected all these years, and would continue to do so.

Protecting her from those that would harm her and those that she loved. Including Luke.

Sophia's eyes widened as she saw her father loom over the mangled body of the wolf. His muzzle slowly descending towards the neck. Letting out a small gasp, Sophia quickly averted her gaze – while at the same moment, Ruby blocked her view. Standing beside her in comfort as Sophia squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands clenching into fists in her lap as she suddenly felt the sharpness of the blades of grass against her bare legs. The sensation unable to distract her as the muffled snap of the wolf's neck was heard clearly in the sudden silence.

Sophia finally looked up. This time at the moon with something akin to hopelessness glowing in her eyes as she looked at the moon. Still glowing crimson red from its position in the night sky. 

Letting out a shuddering sigh, a single tear tracked its way down her cheek. And with it the fear of their future.

****** 

Sherman's only response was a slightly raised eyebrow, as he quietly watched Matt dispassionately end the life of the male Skinwalker. Aware of the implications of what Matt had just done.

Sherman looked over at Vivian, who was looking rather shell-shocked at Donner's actions, and was still standing in the same place. Unable to believe what she had just seen.

Matt quickly shifted back into his human skin as he stood to look back at Vivian, his eyes glowing faintly. The body of his kill at his feet. He met her gaze head-on with a challenging one of his own. 

Vivian tilted her chin up. Defiance radiating from her like a furnace as she stood her ground. Daring him to do something about it.

Matt's lips twisted up humorlessly, before he began to step away, eyes locked on V's for a moment, before breaking it in order to handle the three almost dismembered males, that he, as Alpha, was supposed to kill as well. Leaving Vivian standing there without so much as a word. The anger starting to build as she watched Matthew's retreating back.

Sherman snorted. Finally. 

Catching a sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, Sherman turned in time to watch Luke quickly stride over to Sophia. Falling down to his knees beside her, he clasped her tightly to his chest, as she buried the side of her face into the column of neck. Relief, fear, pain, exhaustion and the residual effects of the adrenaline finally taking its toll as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. Trying to get as close to him as she could.

Luke buried his fingers into the mass of dark hair, and pressed his other hand into the small of her back. Content to just hold her.

Sherman shook his head wryly at the sight. Glad that they were back together, before looking over at John and Ruby. Those two having stepped away to give Luke and Sophia some space. 

His smile faded away as he saw the stress painted across John's now human facial structure. Present in the muscles of his body, and the haunted look in his eyes. Shaking his head again, he stepped back inside. Disappearing into the shadows.

******

The stress from the last week was finally catching up with John, and it had taken the taste of the blood of those three Skinwalkers – enemies – on his tongue for him to realize it. 

The lines of strain were etched deeply around the corners of his mouth, as he tried to roll the tension out of his shoulders by flexing them a few times. It was nothing compared to the tension that was building behind his eyes. Sure to result in a full-fledged migraine shortly. 

Looking around for a source of distraction, he took in the details of the parlor/office that he and Ruby had moved to, opposite from the now empty living room. Luke and Sophia had gone upstairs for the sake of privacy, and for Luke to gather up a few changes of clothing, considering just how many outfits he had lost over the last week.

Sherman had moved into the kitchen in order to fix something to go, as the Mansion was now compromised. Sherman didn't believe that the Hunters were going to come back tonight, even if they did think that Sophia and Presley would head back here – which John had pointed out, they wouldn't think, because they didn't think that they'd be so damn _stupid _to do so – they probably wouldn't want to risk yet another attack in one night. Not now. Not until they were ready to take on the entire Pack. And the fact that they weren't already being killed off one by one proved to them all that that time had yet to come.

Matt and Vivian were still outside. John didn't even care to know how _that _conversation was going to go. The one thing he did know was that Matthew Donner had just assumed leadership over the Pack and Wolf Lake by killing those four men… and John had helped him do it.

Frustrated with his inability to distract himself from his thoughts and emotions in this room, with Ruby so close by, he padded on bare feet towards the kitchen. Maybe there was something he could do there to help speed up their departure.

Ruby sat in the chair across from Vivian's desk and watched John leave cautiously. 

Until he was ready to talk to her about what was bothering him, she knew it was a good idea to give him his space till then. Give him time to deal with the bombardment of human and wolven instincts and emotions, and learn as to how to deal with them. He had been a cop for years. He based what he knew and how he dealt with what he knew with well-grounded facts and morals. **_Human_** facts, and **_human_** morals.

These things had no basis in their world.

John had become a Skinwalker in blood. Fleshing out the faint strands of the wolven DNA already present in his genetic makeup since his conception. He had accepted everything she and Sherman had told him, simply because he hadn't had any choice in the timing. Timing that didn't give him **_the _**time to work it all out slowly and precisely like he might have preferred. He had had to work it out as he went along. Hardly having any time to breathe in-between each radical change in his life. 

The cop in him was also programmed to deal with a situation and come out on top of it, regardless of how much that situation was going to effect his life from there on out.

Regardless of how strange something was, John did what he believed to be morally correct. But now he was beginning to question which morals he was now following.

Those that he had followed all of his life as a human, or those of a creature he hadn't believed existed just a few days past?

****** 

Sherman watched John stalk into the kitchen. Not really surprised at his arrival. He continued to put together the sandwiches in front of him.

John came to stop in front of him, his palms placed on the edge of the island's tabletop. The corded tendons taut against the section of his forearms revealed. Knuckles white.

Sherman suppressed his smirk. Oh yeah, he'd come to understand very well that stressed out expression that John was now sporting. Had seen it many times in the past few months when John had always unwittingly come to him every time he needed answers. Whether Sherman was giving them or not. Hell, he'd even come to look forward to them, if for no other reason then to see what else he could stir up in this town.

Hey, a guy had to have his hobbies. 

Denying the little tug around the corners of his mouth, Sherman held up a glass jar. "Pickles?"

John started talking as if he hadn't even heard the question. "Why does everything have to be so damn complicated in this town?"

"I'll take that as a yes." Sherman commented cheerfully. Taking a few out of the jar and placing them on the open face of the sandwich. Following it with turkey, ham, and thin slices of beef. Lots of beef.

"I mean, from the day I arrived here, _everything _has been upside down. Nothing is the way it should be! I understand that these people have secrets. I understand that they've had no choice but to remain hidden from the rest of the world, and they're right to do so. But… the private meetings, and the… the secret church, and the mysterious deaths of those who stumble too close to the show. Not to mention a graveyard full of teenagers, most of them no older than sixteen – "

"Don't forget the large amount of meat, fowl and fish." Sherman cut in. Wrapping up several in the completed sandwiches in saran wrap. "You know, that's what I always thought would lure suspicion like nothing else. I mean, the stuff comes in here by the truckloads, and yet not a one of them has high cholesterol."

John glared back at him. Not amused. "I'm serious, Sherman." he growled out. His tone low and hoarse with emotion. "I just don't know if I can deal with it all." 

"I know what you mean, John." Sherman replied back calmly. Licking a little bit of mustard of his thumb as he put the various ingredients back into the fridge. "And apparently better than you do yourself."

John's eyes narrowed. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"

Sherman let out a sigh as he came to stand back by the Island. Picking up a paper bag.

"Sit down, John."

"I don't – "

"Sit. Down."

John sat.

"Now," Sherman's voiced with satisfaction as he slid the sandwiches into the paper bag. "First off, I know you're sudden bout of stress and confusion and doubt has nothing to do with private meetings, secret churches, deceased teenagers, or _even_ – " His voice rose an octave when John would have interrupted. "Those mysterious murders that **_have _**taken place, simply because we had no other choice. The lives of the Pack were always at stake. Nor is it about what has happened over the last few days. If anything, you've probably felt more complete since your Change occurred than at any other time in your life."

"Yeah," John words were cold even though his emotions were running high, and his words became more and more heated as each one escaped from his lips. "Yeah, I feel complete all right. I've become something I don't even recognize, and I've almost _completely _ignored all my training. All my hard work. Everything that I knew about myself to be true. Everything that I knew was _right. _And for what? For a man that I just watched kill four others?" John sneered mockingly. His disgust pointed at himself. "Hell, I even _helped _him."

"And how did you do that, how was what you did tonight _any _different then what you've done it past? What you've dedicated your _life _to doing? Tell me, how saving Sophia's life was a violation of your _human _morals?" Sherman asked bluntly. Cocking his head to the side as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. Eyes calculating. 

John just looked back at him painfully. Throat reflexively swallowing as he tried to speak, but no sound emitted from his mouth. Finally, he dropped his head down and stared at the dark polished wood of the tabletop. Not even bothering to answer.

"You see, John." Sherman continued. "Your problem doesn't even lay within what you originally thought. You _know _that what you did tonight was right, any way you at it. You stopped those three from hurting anyone else. From ever trying to kill Sophia, Luke, Matt or Vivian again. And they would have tried again, John, if they had been allowed to live. That is why we deal so harshly with those of our own. Those who would betray or overthrow us. Destroy or reveal us. That is why Ruby was dealt with so harshly when she ran away from Wolf Lake – and right into your arms. That is why they fought to keep her a secret from you. Why they feared letting you know the truth. Why Vivian had even given a 'kill or capture' order towards Ruby. Why the Clan has always sheltered itself from the rest of the world. Keeping to themselves. Watching out for the common good of the Pack. Never leaving, and hardly ever breaking the rules. These are **_our _**rules. The ones we live by. We couldn't force a human to live by them, anymore than you could force a Skinwalker to live by human rules. The Pack **_isn't_** human, John. You know that, and in part, you seemed to have accepted that as well as one could do so, so quickly after having his world turned upside down. But you are going to have to accept **_all _**of them if you're going to be at peace with yourself.

"The Skinwalkers are incredible people. _Your _people. They have amazing gifts and can attune themselves to the world around them in ways you're only beginning to experience. They're erotic, loving, powerful, dangerous, cunning, and protective. They are wild, but yet at the same time, for the most part strangely civilized. They all have a secret, and that secret clings to them like a second skin. That allure, that magic. _That _is why the Hunters hate them. These are people with endless gifts and beauty. People with magic and passion. They feel things deeper than even themselves realize, and the power they possess is not something that can ever be taken away from them. Not by potions or drugs or even those odd rocks. Because being able to change their forms, communicate on their mental paths, or even being able to heal at an accelerated rate is only one small part of who they are. And _that _part can and _will _be taken away. But the Hunters will never be able to take their souls. And _that _is why they hate, and why they rage against us. They hate what they are not capable of understanding. Those they cannot control threaten them.

"That is why they seek to destroy us. Because the Wolven have a power and a beauty that _they _cannot corrupt, no matter how hard they try. And they will keep trying. They will try and try and try to bring the Pack to its knees, till they either succeed, or are destroyed. But in the end none of it will matter, because they will never get what they want. They might as well try to steal the sun from the heavens, for all the good it will do them."

John looked at Sherman for a long time before turning away, and walking out of the kitchen. Obviously going back to locate Ruby. The one person that obviously _did _make sense to him in this freaked out world full of danger, mystique, moonlight, and shadows.

****** 

John was still locked within his own thoughts, as he came back into the office where Ruby was still sitting. Probably having heard the entire exchange taking place in the kitchen, but remaining strangely quiet.

John couldn't help but feel the confusion still beating at him. Although he understood perfectly what Sherman had told him – understood, and believed in it – he was still so uncertain. The last week had been hell trying to deal with everything that had happened at once. He still wasn't sure how he had made it through. But there was one thing he couldn't forget, and that was how he had spent the last few months prior to the events that had taken place so recently… All the threats, all the pressure, all the **_pain_** that this place was capable of inflicting. Turning everyone into its little pawns. Sherman didn't even deny it back in there in the kitchen… In fact, he wanted John to embrace it. Wanted him to accept the way the Pack was.

And they may be passionate and beautiful and wild, and he sure as hell didn't want to see them destroyed. But he couldn't ignore what they also were. Cold, hard, vindictive, cruel, deadly… the list went on and on. They were such a primal melding of instincts and behaviors. Sure, they had pulled together since the recent threat had become known, but how long before they were back at each other's throats again? How long before the madness started all over again, and with it the strange deaths – both human and Skinwalker – as they all sought for a handhold in their power struggle? Their search for profit and dominance over the other?

How long before Matthew Donner would be forced to kill again in order to _remain _in control of the circumstances?

And how could he come to terms with knowing that killing was a way of life for these people? Knowing that they all answered to one man… A man that could claim any life he so desired.

It was a dictatorship, and a dangerous one at that, if the Pack ever fell to the ruler-ship of a person with an evil heart.

What had happened along the way for these people? He didn't believe for one moment that they had always been like this. Hungry for power, and thirsty for blood. Even if it was their own. He didn't believe they had managed to survive for hundreds, _thousands _of years by acting like vampires. Sucking the life out of those around them. 

Survival of the Pack. John couldn't help but snort at that. Yeah, they were doing a great job of that. Survival meant sticking to a code. A set of rules. Those rules included a black and white representation of _everything _that these people hadn't been since the crumbling of Willard's rule, and on through the shaky start of Vivian's. And from what John had heard, it wasn't the first time that these people had fallen from that code. And, considering what he had heard had happened last time, these people had yet to learn their lesson. And it was, yet again, costing them dearly.

****** 

Upstairs, Sophia made use of the Cates' bathroom as she quickly showered. The heated water rinsing away the odd smell of the lake, and the streaks of mud clinging to her skin.

Her back stung as the water poured over the shallow wounds in her back. Washing away the blood from the already healing lacerations.

Finger combing her hair after rinsing the suds clean, she shook the heavy mass away from her face, and leaned her forehead against the shower stall wall. Allowing the water to cascade over her.

She was so tired. She felt like curling up somewhere and never waking again. She still couldn't get over how much her life had changed over the last week. Just a week.

In a week, she had Flipped… In a week, she had created a bond with Luke that she had never believed would have happened... In a week, she had entrusted her heart to him – to the guy who had only just recently broken it… In a week, she had discovered her destiny, as well as her ancestry… In a week, she had rewritten history in regards to the women of the Pack, and her place within it. As the half-breed they had all known her for, and the white wolf that she was. 

In a week, John had _finally _discovered the truth of Wolf Lake. Had discovered who Ruby really was, and had – by the strangest twist of all – **Flipped **and joined their ranks.

In the last two weeks, he had been shot, drugged, knocked unconscious, held against his will (four times), and barely managing to escape the clutches of their enemy alive. He had had his shoulder nearly ripped out by Tyler, and had nearly died during the Change. Not to mention getting captured by that Van Halen character that had led the Hunters here in the first place, hooked up and transfused with wolf's blood… or the incident before that when he had been captured by a half-mutated Skinwalker girl and almost burned alive.

In the last week and a half, Ruby had managed to escape Tyler, only to become a pawn in Van Halen's twisted little transfusion – which, granted, had turned out alright in the end – on the run yet again, this time from any member of the Pack because of Vivian's kill or capture order, and then getting shot, barely staying alive in wolf form while John carried her to Sherman's. Then having to reveal herself to him, reveal to him the truth. Risk the possibility of having him reject her, and then facing the Pack alone, and, subsequently her own death as a traitor… Then having to hide out together, in which time, she had to endure the pain and uncertainty of whether or not the true mate of her heart would even survive something that members of their species ten years younger had a hard time doing so. Stepping out of the shadows with him at the Meeting, revealing to all that she had **_indeed _**betrayed their secret to the Seattle cop, but knowing they wouldn't have a choice in whether or not they could accept that betrayal, as he was now one of their own… and her own value had proven to be more beneficial than just being the possible destined mate to the future Alpha… that was why Tyler had wanted her so much. He could spout love poems and sonnets all he wanted, and bring her flowers shipped in from Tin Buck Too, but it wouldn't make her believe that for one moment that he hadn't been more in love with her power that she could bring to his table than Ruby herself.

How hard must it have been when John had had no time to adjust to his new-found abilities. No time to fully come to understand what it all entailed.He had been thrust into the middle of the Pack's struggle with each other and the rest of the world. A world that he had belonged to first. A world so different than the one of Wolf Lake… the one of the Pack.

His love for Ruby really was that strong, Sophia thought wryly to herself. With only her to cling to, he had been transformed from being the outsider human that wanted to take Ruby from them, an outsider that already had known more than he should have, and had seen more than allowed comfortably.

Even if he did succeed in taking Tyler out. Even if he had already proven his strength tonight, Sophia knew all too well what was going to come John's way when this whole thing with the Hunters was said and done. She knew that there were going to be plenty of their own kind that still wouldn't trust him. Still wouldn't believe he was worthy. And those that would still quite possibly try to kill him.

And then there was her father.

Tonight, with the deaths of those four, he had named himself the Alpha… and Vivian and Luke's lives were forfeit.

Now, she _knew _that Matt would never do anything to harm Vivian or her son. But Sophia couldn't help but bristle defensively at the thought that he might try to keep Sophia and Luke apart. And as Alpha, he would have that power. 

Not that she thought he would utilize it after everything they'd been through, but still… it set her on edge just thinking about it.

And what was going to happen between Matt and Vivian? Sophia wasn't dumb. She had seen the way her father had looked at Vivian. Something had happened between those two tonight. Something that Sophia wasn't too sure as to how she felt about. But she knew that nothing was ever going to be the same. 

If her father did assume the mantel of leadership, like she believed he had just done… and if he took Vivian as his mate…

No one would question his leadership. Especially considering that one of the white females was his daughter, and he would also have the support of Ruby. 

Sophia let out a pent up breath and tilted her face up into the hot water streaming down, heavy steam still building in the shower stall and bathroom. Fogging up the fixtures, mirrors, and frosted glass.

She didn't seem to notice when the steam quickly began to leak out of the room, via the door that had just been opened. The sound not reaching her ears as the water pounded down around them. Nor the silent click of it closing. Trapping the steam once more in the small confines of the room.

She didn't seen to notice it when the glass stall door slide partially open, and then closed. The shadow of a man's body falling over hers.

She didn't even open her eyes when familiar hands came about her shoulders and pulled her back up against a rock-hard, warm, masculine chest, already slick with the water washing away the streaks of blood from his body, from wounds both healed and still healing. But all the muscles in her body turned to liquid as she leaned back against him, his hands sliding down to her waist. The texture of her skin and his palms contrasting erotically against each other. 

Luke wrapped his arms snugly around Sophia's waist, bringing her up tight against him almost in desperation. His face burying in the curve of her moist throat, and pressing a kiss there briefly, he inhaled her familiar scent almost reassuringly.

Sophia brought her fingers down to where his arms were wrapped around her torso. The tips of her fingers tracing the sinewy length. Feeling the muscles, tendons, and veins just under the surface. Capable of so much strength, yet holding her so tenderly.

Sophia opened her eyes, water droplets clinging to her lashes and dripping down her face and body. Tracing the lines of her form. But yet, through that water, tears burned behind her eyes and shimmered across their surface. The events of the last hour and their emotions that they were connected to catching up with her. Now that she was in this place and time, with the one that had become more important to her than her own life, she knew she could toss away the façade of being in control. Cool. Calm.

Reunited with Luke, she could let it all slide away, and allow those emotions to rise to the surface. Knowing that if she shattered under their pressure, he'd be there to catch the pieces when they fell.

Sensing her pain, even though their private mental connection was still broken, Luke felt a harsh twisting deep in his body. Knowing that he hadn't been able to do anything to stop whatever she had endured over the last few hours that was causing her body to tremble against his so.

"I'm sorry," He whispered against her temple. Painfully aware of the tear tracking its way down her cheek. Melding with the water droplets. "I – I couldn't stop them…" Luke's voice broke and then trailed off. He had to swallow painfully around the knot that had formed in his throat.

A small sob echoed in Sophia's throat. "Oh, Luke, it wasn't your fault." Her voice was slightly hoarse from the screaming that had emitted from it less than an hour ago. "They're wasn't anything that you could have done. They would have gotten me one way or another."

Luke pressed another kiss to the top of her head. Resting his chin there as he looked unseeingly into the fall of water right in front of them.

"Did they hurt you?"

Sophia mouth trembled slightly at his words, and she closed her eyes against the sudden images assailing her… Tyler's offending hands on her body… the disgusting leers of David Van Halen and the others under his command… and the blood thirsty glint in Eric's eyes, the dark skinned Hunter that had tortured Presley for information… and then for the fun of it.

Shaking her head slowly side to side, she choked out another sob. Tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes.

Luke felt like someone was squeezing a fist around his heart tightly. Closing his eyes, he murmured soothing endearments as he held her closer. One arm still tightly wrapped around her waist, as the other came up to rest over her chest, the palm cupping the side of her face and keeping it pressed into his shoulder as she cried. Unable to tell the difference between her tears and the water, but each drop burning into his skin like acid. Each the symbol of a pain that he couldn't remove completely. He could only hold her as she cried herself out underneath the showerhead. Water cascading down over both of them comfortingly.

After a few moments, the sobs subsided, and the tears slowed. Luke's grip loosened slightly as she suddenly turned in his arms, now facing him. Her fingers came up to trace the features of his face in wonderment. Starting with his brow, then brushing down in a light caress over the bridge of his noise, then trailing down over his cheekbone and jaw-line, before coming up to brush across the petal softness of his lips. The innocent contact sending an unexpected shockwave through his body.

He noticed that her fingers were trembling when she pulled away, and he looked down at her, unable to bear the tears still caught on her dark, crescent shaped lashes. And he suddenly had a startling thought that this must have been what she had looked like after she had caught him and Presley having – 

In that moment, he hit an all-time low for feeling like dirt.

Unaware of the guilt suddenly arching through Luke's mind, she reached up again to feather her fingertips over his temple. Watching him close his eyes at the sensation. She couldn't reach him on their private mental path, and, considering the sudden way his jaw tightened, she knew he couldn't reach her either. And it was killing him.

"I was so afraid that I had lost you." Sophia confided to him softly. Watching him as his eyes reopened. Revealing the pale green orbs gazing down at her so seriously. "I was afraid that they had taken you from me."

A frown formed over his brow, as he quickly shook his head. Warm hands coming up to cup the sides of her face, thumb brushing over her bottom lip as she looked back down.

"You'll never lose me, Sophia." His words were a heated whisper across her skin as she looked back up at him. Seeing the reflection of her own suddenly sparking eyes in his that were starting to flare to life. Her lips parted in surprise at the stark passion glowing there. Feeling her body begin to tremble for a completely different reason.

"Never."

With that one word, his lips descended upon hers as his hands sought out the sensitive curves and valleys of her body. Erasing from her mind the memories of what she had been subjected to. Both mentally and physically. 

Her hand came up to grasp his muscled arm as she pressed closer… Her fingers unconsciously tracing the outline of the strange tattoo on his right shoulder. Leaving behind a wet trail beneath the press if her fingertips, as he gently urged her with the tilt of his mouth upon hers to open up to him fully. The shock of his tongue slipping through when her lips parted sent a jolt of desire shooting off between her thighs, as she pressed closer. The erotic and precise caresses from those beautifully sculpted hands inflaming her at the same time comforting her.

Luke couldn't take away her fears or her pain. But he could comfort her. And that is what he did. Comforted her with his body melding with hers in an age-old dance of love and life. The dance of their people.

With all the gentleness and strength of his body, he turned her back around, placing her smaller palms up against the shower wall as his body hovered close behind her. Her small shivers when the length of his body would brush up against her back – the water causing their skin to slide against one another – making him smile at the innocent and treasured responses she gave him when she found something that touched a chord deep from within her.

In response to her, his hands slide slowly up her forearms, to cup the backs of hers. Gently pinning her in place. His lips and tongue working their magic on her neck and shoulder. Sophia let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and entrusted herself over to his ministrations. Her head falling back onto his shoulder, as he deftly slide into her heated core from behind. The position new and highly erotic. Amazingly sensual because of her trust and love in him. 

There, cut off from the world in one of their own making, underneath the cascading water flowing down their joined bodies seductively… All the past events of the last week fell away till there was nothing… nobody else in the entire world but the two of them. Moving together, dancing together… silently… enveloped in a blanket of steam and scent and sensation… They're minds continuously straining to reach out to the other, sensations overtaking them, desire flaming outward, muffled gasps of pleasure echoing in the darkened chamber…bodies sliding together… fingers entwined… muscles clenching, skin rippling… water drops clinging to their heated flesh… Glittering like liquid diamonds…

Until, finally, like a thin silvery spider web suddenly woven between them, Luke felt the faint brushes of her mind against his. 

Almost afraid that it was a mirage brought on by their joined escalating pleasure, he mentally strained outward, grasping at that fine thread and holding on till its connection was solid. Unbreakable. Their link restored. Unable to tell where one of them began and the other left off. Feeling the sensations and pleasure of the other. Heightening their love making to a completely different level.

Sophia muffled her passionate cry of completion – remembering that her and Luke were not the only people in this house with advanced hearing abilities – by quickly biting down on her bottom lip. The action producing a small droplet of blood, that Luke quickly leaned over her to capture. The taste of her essence on his tongue, as he almost violently plundered her mouth. Her whimpers of ecstasy vibrating against his lips as he felt her body shudder around him. Causing an almost feral growl to reverberate deep in his chest. Never waiting to ever let her go.

Even after their lovemaking, Luke held on to her. Her back pressed up against his chest, both of them feeling the way their hearts slowed down from their erratic pacing to beat together in unison soothingly. The water pouring down on both of them. Washing away the musk of their joined scents from their flesh… the taste of the other still lingering long after their lips had parted.

****** 

Vivian stood facing Matt outside on the lawn long after everyone else had gone inside… hands clenched at her sides and the features of her face set in hard lines. Chin tilted up defiantly and eyes glittering faintly in the darkness.

Matt looked right back at her. A humorless smile flitting around the corners of his mouth… a smile that Vivian did **_not _**like one bit. Healing wounds criss-crossing over various parts of his nude body.

"What's the matter, V?" Matt asked coolly, finally deciding that the silence had gone on long enough. He took a step closer to her. Then another. Then another. His shadowed eyes never once blinking, never once losing their lock on hers. "I've done what you wanted. What you begged me to. Why the hostile face?"

Matt paused about ten feet away from her, before beginning to pace slowly in a circle around her stiffly held form.

"And you think I'll just let you take my position, my **_leadership, _**of the Pack away from me? Just like that?" the hardened edge to Vivian's words could cut through stone, as her eyes flared bright gold back at Matt. 

"I wasn't aware you had a say in this, Vivian." Matt paused to study her. His words soft despite their forcefulness. "For the safety of yourself and your son, you have no choice but to back down."

Vivian's eyes narrowed. "Like hell!" Her fingers curled into claws at her sides.

Matthew raised a brow. "Oh really? How else do you think it's going to go down, Vivian? A fight? A battle to the death? Tell me, because I'd really like to know just how you think you're going to stop me."

Vivian just stood there. Almost trembling from rage. Matt let out a sigh and shook his head.

"I thought this was what you wanted, Vivian. So what's changed?"

Vivian's lips curled up. "I asked you to become our Alpha back after Willard's death. I asked you again during the Election, but instead, you nominated **_me." _**

What Vivian was saying finally dawned on Matt. "Oh, I see. So long as you or Luke were in danger from the other males of the Pack, you wanted **_me _**to assume control because you knew I wouldn't harm your son, and the last of Willard's line. But once you were in control, you didn't need me anymore for protection. Is that it?" Matt chuckled harshly, not even bothering to wait for her answer. "First off, we were all foolish to believe that you would last long as Alpha anyway. Even if I did become your… **_bodyguard…" _**Matt's lips snarled at that word. His eyes starting to flare in agitation. "There was no way I would have been able to hold them off for long, and you know it." Suddenly, Matt's expression fell into unemotional lines as he started to close the distance between them. 

Before Vivian could even react to this unusually aggressive move from him, Matt grasped her hard by the upper arms and pulled her to him roughly. His eyes molten.

"And just what was I to you this entire time, Vivian? hmm? Another possible lover? A pet? Someone who you thought you could take as a mate to warm your bed, one that you would keep in the shadows while you continued to rule the Clan?" His fingers tightened slightly. Refusing to release her. "Well, I'm sorry Vivian. I guess I'm not as **_neutral _**as you would like me to be." Matt leaned in closer. Taking advantage of Vivian's stunned silence. His lips hovering over hers by mere inches. "You're a fool to think that if I became your mate, that I wouldn't assume the Alpha position. As well as double-foolish to believe that I would continue to allow you to place yourself in this kind of danger!"

Matt felt the warmth of her skin under his fingers, and he slowly loosened his grip on her arms. Sensing the way her body was trembling from the intensity of her emotions. She looked up at him, lips slightly parted, and eyes raw with uncertainty and shock from his outburst. In those few moments, she remembered what Matthew had been like when they were younger. The untamed, passionate side of him that had always dominated his actions. The primal, almost savage allure that had always clung to his skin. Even after he had donned the uniform of a Sheriff, and had locked all of his wolven instincts away deep within his body.

And the reason she had fallen in love with him to begin with.

But that still didn't mean that she was willing to give in to him just yet.

"I never thought that you would assume control of the Pack after nominating me."

Matthew smirked at her almost sadly. "I never thought I would either. But that fact remains that a male **_must _**lead, Vivian. You and I both know that. We may look human and sound human and live as humans, but we're not. We never will be. Our wolven instincts will always override the farce that we have of human ones." Matt dwelled for a split second on his daughter and everything she had been through. "I understand that now."

Vivian looked up at him. Her inner hatred starting to burn out against her will.

"I only became Alpha to protect my son. If you take that away, he'll be the one who'll pay." If Matthew was Alpha, then he could kill Luke, and destroy the last of Willard's line. It was the way of the real wolves. And the way of most of the animal kingdom. Only one male could rule… any challengers, past or present, had to be eliminated, along with any male offspring. It was one instinct that had shown up time and again in the Skinwalkers' history.

Matt smiled wryly at where her chaotic thoughts were going and chuckled. Finally releasing her arms altogether. "You don't believe that, Vivian." he whispered softly. Causing Vivian to swallow hard at the husky, masculine texture to it. "Your son will suffer no harm from me, and because of his connection to my daughter, he will always be under my protection." he eyes flickered suddenly under the dark shadows of the night. "Regardless of whether or not you become my mate."

Vivian almost flinched at the sudden coldness to his voice when he said that last bit. He did know her… all too well. He knew she had slept with Tyler, and had probably slept with Gerald… all because she knew that she would have to be in a position to be the Alpha's top female bitch in order to keep her son safe. 

And he also had known how much she had _hated _it. But she had done it to keep Luke alive. 

And now, it **_would _**be expected that she do the same for Matt. But Matt was letting her know that he would only take what she freely offered him.

Matt nodded at her when he saw that she understood, and he took a step away. "I may be Wolven, but I'm not an animal. I will not force you to become my mate. But I would hope that you would come to me as such willingly. But make no mistake about my intentions, V. I **_will _**be the Alpha from here on out. Forget democracy. We don't have that luxury at the moment, and there are no other men available to lead this Pack the way it needs to be led."

Matt looked away for the first time, towards the broken and dead bodies of the male Skinwalkers he had already killed. He knew them. Had grown up with them. Their leader, Gregori had been somewhat of a surprise, since he had never shown much interest in leading the Pack before… Maybe because he had thought it was now free for the taking with a female in control, he had changed his tactics.

Which meant that they're were probably others out there at well that we're planning along the same line.

Even still, the snapped neck was proof of how wrong Gregori's judgment had been. And proof of what would happen to any other who thought to cross Matthew from here on out.

He still felt a pang of remorse. Just because he had killed them, didn't mean he had enjoyed it. The entire time he kept thinking back on what Marie would have said. What her response to this bloodshed would have been. 

But if he hadn't killed them, then it would have been those he cared about lying there in the mud, with broken necks and torn bodies.

Matthew clenched his jaw as he tilted his chin up to look at the still red moon. Its light bathing his features in sickly relief against the backdrop of the heavily shadowed and strangely alien forest.

"We've already fallen back to the Old Ways," he admitted reluctantly. "And walking that line between remaining in control with the snap of your teeth, and falling into being a complete, animalistic predator because you know you're stronger than others is a difficult one. It's a war that will never stop, but at the same time, one that you can never lose."

Matt looked back over at her again. His gaze frank and defenseless. "Now, tell me again that you still believe you should still be the one leading us, Vivian. Even after all that has happened lately."

Vivian pulled her gaze from his, and looked up at the night sky. Letting out a sigh that she had been holding for what felt like forever.

Matt repositioned his stance to get a better look at her. "And I'm still awaiting my answer, Vivian. Will you be my mate?"

Vivian dropped her gaze, looking back at him. "I think you know the answer to that, Matt."

Matt swallowed. "I still need to hear it."

Vivian smiled at him softly as she closed the distance between them, reaching up to stroke the line of his jaw as he looked down at her proudly. Emotions warring in the depths of his eyes.

"Yes, Matt. I will be your mate."

****** 

When Sophia and Luke walked back downstairs, they were both dressed and Luke carried a backpack over one shoulder. Luke had dressed in another pair of jeans and a black sweater. Sophia was wearing a pair of black jeans that had once upon a time belonged to Ruby, and a warm dark colored long-sleeved shirt, that, considering the difference in each of their body shapes, wouldn't have fit Sophia as well as it did if Ruby hadn't accidentally washed it in hot water years ago when she had still lived in this house. 

As they came to the landing, hand in hand. She heard Ruby and John talking together softly in the parlor, but before she could pick up any of their words, she was distracted by the sight of a light gray wolf suddenly slinking out of the shadows and into the house. Leaping over the broken glass to keep from lacerating her paws.

Luke's hand tightened on Sophia's for a moment, as he tensed at the sight of the wolf coming towards them, but a split second later, his grip loosened as soon as he recognized whom it was.

Panting hard, Presley came to a stop as she observed the two through her wolven eyes. Sensing their mingled smells and musks, knowing that they must have recently made love. But unable to find it within herself to care anymore.

"Did you make it back without any trouble?" 

Luke looked towards Sophia as her calmly asked question registered with the wolf, as she shortly answered on the public mental path. A mental path that Luke still couldn't hear, even though his personal one with Sophia was renewed. Alleviating some of the claustrophobic tendencies that came with the loss of one of their more primary special senses. 

With a little creative rewiring, he found himself able to merge with Sophia in order to hear what was being discussed on the public pathways. But it was only one way. He couldn't send anything out himself, even though Sophia could speak on his behalf if need be.

So, as much as he may have loved floating around in her mind unhindered, he hoped that this was only temporary. 

'I didn't see anyone, if that's what you mean.' Bits of leaves, twigs and burs clung to Presley's coat. A small cut on her ear from some bush or branch scabbing over.

'How did you get back so fast?'

Sophia grimaced. "You don't want to know." She didn't think she'd be swimming anytime soon. 

"There are a change of clothes in the guest bedroom upstairs that I set aside for you. I think they're about your size. If not, they'll do till you can get some of yours back.'

Presley started moving again, and, darting around them, headed up the stairs on all fours. Disappearing around the bend.

Sophia turned back to look at Luke. He was watching her closely.

"What?"

"Is everything… okay?" Luke asked slowly. Pale eyes intent and serious. His short hair was still damp from their shower, and spiked up every which way. And even though he had shaved, the structure of his jaw-line and cheekbone still cast heavy shadows in the planes and angles of his face. Sophia again was struck by just how stunning he was.

She smiled wryly as she ducked her head down. Her heavy ponytail swinging forward. "Yeah. I think we came to an understanding of sorts back at the warehouse. It's fine."

Luke reached out to stroke a finger down the length of hair draped over her shoulder. The entire mass having been restrained and pulled away from her face with a simple black rubber band.

Sophia looked back up at him. Still not used to the beautiful little ways he found to make contact with her.

Matt and Vivian chose that time to come back in and stand together, side by side in the Entryway. Interrupting the younger couple. Matt had already replaced the pair of jeans that he had discarded outside, and Vivian had wrapped the terrycloth robe back around her body.

"Dad!" Sophia quickly stepped into her father's waiting embrace, as Matt hugged her tightly to his chest. Thankful that she was safe.

"Oh, Sophia." he let out, close to tears as he heard the small sob echo in Sophia's throat. "Are you okay?" 

Her muffled answer wasn't good enough, so he pulled away, both hands coming up to frame her cheeks. Peering into her eyes worriedly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Sophia laughed. "I'm fine, **_now._**" She sniffled a little, brushing away a few stray tears that had found their way onto her cheeks.

"I am so glad you're safe." Matt whispered as he pulled his daughter back into his embrace, holding her a few minutes longer. Tempted to just pack her up in a car and get her out of Wolf Lake and as far away from any threat to her life as possible. But he knew that they were in far too deep now to just walk away. Sophia had a destiny here within the Pack, as did Matt. He couldn't take her away from here, anymore than he could talk her out of being with Luke. 

Everything was the way it should be. Now, they would just have to deal with it.

****** 

Just as Ruby had predicted, as soon as John had worked everything out in his mind, he came back to her.

Kneeling down in front of where she was sitting, he deftly grasped her slender pale hands in his large, darkly tanned ones. The slightly calloused pad of his thumb caressing the sensitive area of the underside portion of her wrist. Feathering gently over the pulse. 

Looking into her silver-gray eyes with his own, he cleared his throat.

"I guess I've kinda zoned out on you the last forty minutes. I'm sorry."

Ruby shook her head quickly, leaning forward adamantly. "John, you have nothing to apologize for. You didn't do anything wrong."

John let out a sigh. Peeling his gaze away for a few moments before returning it. "This hasn't been a very easy week. For any of us."  
  


Ruby snorted. "It hasn't been a very easy year. Not since they took me away from you back in Seattle."

John smiled faintly. Remembering what hell it had been those six months he had spent in Seattle. Looking for clues, looking for anything. At least when he came to Wolf Lake, he had something to work with. Back then, he hadn't had anything to work with. No hope of ever finding her. 

"John, it's only understandable that you would feel the way you do. Everything has happened so fast. I'm sure you don't even know if you think you're the same person or not. But John, you have to realize… what happened tonight, happened because there was no other choice for us. No other option. We deal with our own, how can we not, given the differences between us and the humans. You have to believe that."

"That's just it." John broke in. His mouth twisting. "I do believe that. That's what makes this so hard for me." John looked away again as he continued. Not wanting to see the pain in her gaze. "I just helped a man become Judge, Jury, and Executioner. I just assisted him in killing four men. And that's the problem. I was raised to put my faith in a justice system. I trained for that system, and I fought for that system. And now…" he shook his head slowly. "Now, I don't know what I believe."

It was a moment before Ruby answered. Choosing her words carefully. "John… you yourself have found yourself in situations beyond your control. Situations which don't give a damn about the Political Justice you are talking about. You've been in situations, many a time, where you have had to kill in order to survive. In order to protect yourself, and others around you. How is that any different than what you saw here tonight?" She started back up again when he tried to deny her words. "No, let me finish. Those four had captured Sophia, lured Luke outside in order to kill him, and then move on to Vivian. They probably would have then either killed Sophia, or would have locked her up somewhere to use as blackmail against her father. These people would have murdered to get what they want, and they never would have stopped. Now, you tell me if you think Matt was still wrong to protect his own?"

John was still for a few moments. The only movement was the steady pulse beating visibly in the hollow of his throat. Slowly, he shook his head.

Ruby reached out a hand to cup his cheek. "Then tell me… what else needs to be said? **_We_** are not human, no matter how some may wish otherwise. The only Justice system we have is what you saw this evening, and it has kept us alive and a secret for thousands of years. And it did so again tonight. You can't let something like this eat you away, John. You just have to accept it. Nothing that happened tonight was wrong. It doesn't mean we have to take pleasure in it… It just means that we shouldn't regret."

John nodded again. Her words reaching him on a level that he did understand. He pressed a kiss to the side of her palm before slowing standing upright. Holding a hand down to her in order to pull her up. As much as he would have wanted to continue talking with her, they had to prepare to leave the Mansion and soon… Besides, what else **_was _**there to say?

It was time to go find the rest of the group.

As they walked towards the closed doors, John paused in order to press a short but bittersweet kiss to Ruby's lips. Once again finding himself incredibly grateful to have her at his side once more. 

He became determined then, that despite his uncertainty towards the customs of the Pack, and the strange position he had fond himself in with these people, he knew he could handle anything so long as Ruby was at his side.

****** 

Sherman strolled back into the hallway just in time to see John and Ruby come out from the parlor to meet up with Matt, Vivian, Sophia and Luke. Matt currently was crushing the life out of his daughter, while Luke looked on in amusement, thumbs hooked in his front pockets. Vivian stood with her shoulder braced up against the wall, arms crossed. She met Sherman's gaze but refused to respond to the gloating expression suddenly glowing there. 

Sherman chuckled. Knowing all-to-well what had occurred outside between those two. Matt always was a sly devil when he wanted to be. And he knew Vivian better than most could ever even hope to.

He tilted his head towards the staircase as Presley came down. Wearing a simple pair of pants and a loose sweater, which hid her still healing body from view. The faint bruises on her face still present. Her blond hair swung freely. The untamed mass wild about her sensual face. A face, which was haunted by a strained pair of eyes. Eyes that had experienced far too much pain in the last few days. 

"My parents?" she asked quietly, looking towards Vivian. Her voice was hoarse from lack of use. "Have they been told that I'm okay?"

Vivian let out a breath. "No, they haven't. With everything that has happened tonight, its amazing any of us are still coherent." She jerked her chin towards the Kitchen. "You can use the phone in there to give them a call." 

Once the younger girl had left, Vivian turned back towards Matt, who was still standing close by Sophia.

"Alright, Matt. What now?"

Sophia's brow raised at the rather sarcastic overtone present in Vivian's voice, and she looked towards her father. Realizing that he really had assumed leadership of the Pack.

Matt took in a deep breath as he watched his daughter. Wondering how she would take to the news. "First things first. We need to get Sophia and Ruby relocated. Which means we need to figure out where to keep them."

Sophia frowned. "Why can't we just go back home for the remainder of the night? Considering everything that has happened, I don't think we have to worry about another attack... either from members of the Pack or the Hunters for the next few hours."

Sudden shadows flitted across Matt's eyes as he looked back at his daughter sadly.

Luke caught the expression, and frowned. Taking a small step forward to stand right behind Sophia. His hand hovering over the small of her back. Matt's heavy silence concerning him.

"Our home was burnt to the ground this evening, Sophia. It was meant to be a distraction for Vivian and me while they attacked the Mansion and took you hostage."

Sophia paled, eyes going wide. The only thing she seemed capable of feeling at the moment was Luke's arm circling her waist snugly.

John and Ruby looked at each other, not saying anything.

"They took our home?" Sophia finally whispered hoarsely. Unable to believe what she was hearing.

Matt looked away. "Yeah, hon. They did."

Sherman finally spoke up grimly. "Well, it's not like you would have been living there any longer anyway."

Sophia looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" 

"Well… two things actually. Now that Matt has… done what he should have months ago, the Mansion now belongs to him and to you. But, even now… it doesn't look like you'll be living here either."

Sophia shook her head in bafflement, and turned to look at her father, her gaze searching. "Dad? What is he talking about?

Matt glared at Sherman for a good ten seconds before to turning back to his daughter. Sherman's expression stating clearly that either Matt told her, or he would.

"We're leaving Wolf Lake, Sophia."

**_"What?" _**Their house forgotten, Sophia snapped out of her shock and looked around at everyone in the room. "Did I miss something here? What do you mean, we're leaving Wolf Lake? I thought it had been agreed upon that we had to remain here if we had a chance of survival?"

Matt shook his head. "That was before we found out about the drugs at their disposal, Sophia. We have no way to fight them off when they attack Wolf Lake."

Sophia shook her head adamantly. Eyes going wild. "No! If we leave, we'll never stop running! We can't! We have to stay and fight them!"

"Fight them how? We don't even know where to start. At least if we run, we stay alive."

Sophia's lips twisted. "That's no life." the words were bitter as they fell from her lips. She closed her eyes in denial as Luke pulled her into his arms. Reaching out to her across their mental path.

'Whatever happens, we're together. That's what matters. Understand?' 

Sophia nodded slowly, minutely. Clinging to those words spoken so privately.

"So then what?" Sophia asked emotionlessly. "What do we do once we start running? Move to another country like the last few members of our race did when they first came to Wolf Lake?"

Her question was meant to be sarcastic, but her heart sunk when her father slowly nodded his head. "Yes. We'll disappear up in the wilderness of Canada. Stay there while we try to figure out what to do next."

"And those of us that haven't Flipped?" Sophia asked bluntly. Eyes unblinking.

"They'll be coming too." Matt replied determinedly. 

"That kind of journey will be tough on them. Some of them won't make it."

"They **_will _**make it. Even un-Flipped, their bodies are still Wolven. And despite the fact that we've been surrounded by **_human _**comforts all our life, it won't take long for all of us to adapt to the wildness that **_is_** our nature."

"Speak for yourself." Sherman muttered.

Matt ignored him. "We will survive. I'll make sure of that."

Sophia just shook her head again. "Well, I hope you realize that once we leave, there's no going coming back. We'd be giving up our home for good."

Matt didn't answer her. Thankfully, Vivian took over.

"We can relocate Ruby and John to the underground facility of the Hospital, Sherman can take them."

"That still doesn't answer the question of where Sophia will be going." Ruby spoke up for the first time. Hand tightly clasped in John's. 

Sherman thought for a moment. "They could be taken to the Brewery."

Matt shook his head. "No, there are too many people that work there. They'll be seen."

"You so sure about that, Matt?"

Matt started to reply when he caught the secretive glint in Sherman's eyes. Narrowing his own in superstition, he suddenly wondered what their Keeper meant by that cryptic remark.

******

"What is this place?" Sophia asked in bafflement as she looked around her at the fairly large room that Sherman had relocated her to. 

They were deep underground, in an area that none of them had even known existed, far below the Brewery. And even though all the walls had been carved out of rock, as well as the floor and ceiling, the place did look like a home. Light colored furniture and neutral colors decorated the dwelling. Lamps scattered about, casting their rich glow around a room that would normally be as dark as a tomb.

Sophia couldn't help but shudder at the thought. Despite how nice the place looked, she didn't like the feeling of being buried underground, the rock walls and ceiling pressing in on her, suffocating her.

"Just one of the little hideaways in Wolf Lake." Sherman answered calmly. Checking to make sure the 'kitchen' had enough food, and that the propane heaters were working okay.

"**_One _**of the hideaways?" Matt asked tersely. Just as surprised about this place as Vivian was. Sherman just shrugged. Refusing to elaborate.

"Well," Sophia muttered darkly. "Whatever it is, this place looks like it could survive a nuclear blast."

"Quite possibly." Sherman agreed as he went over to the phone. Picking up the handset to make sure there was a dial tone. "But I would hate to test that theory." Once he set the handset back down into its cradle, he briskly rubbed his palms together. "Okay, then. That's everything. You should be nice and toasty here till its time for us to leave Wolf Lake."

Sophia crossed her arms. Still not at all pleased at the change of events. Nor that everyone was insisting that she remain locked up somewhere for her own safety.

"I'm not comfortable with just hiding away down here." Sophia spoke up. Voicing her distaste on her circumstances. 

"Sophia, it's only temporary." Matt cautioned. "Just try to get some sleep, and tomorrow we'll figure out what to do next. You won't be here long, I promise."

Sophia rolled her eyes, knowing she didn't exactly have a choice. She nodded slowly, hugging her arms tightly around her torso.

Luke came up behind her, rubbing his palms up and down her shoulders gently. Reminding her that he wasn't going anywhere.

Matt let out a breath as he saw the way Sophia had shut herself down. Refusing to look at him or any other for that matter. Even after Luke went over to comfort her. He watched the way she bit her lower lip in uncertainty and turned away from the sight. His heart heavy with the thought of having to leave her here alone all by herself.

"She won't be alone." Vivian reminded him softly. As if reading his thoughts. "Luke is going to remain with her. They've both been through enough tonight. They need the time together."

Matt nodded his head in agreement. Wryly thinking back… Had it only been less than two weeks ago that he'd been ready to sting that pup up?

Matt turned away, still uncertain as he made his way towards the exit. Vivian and Sherman close behind. It was obvious Sophia wasn't in the mood for goodbyes, and to be honest, Matt couldn't really blame her.

****** 

"You want me to do **_what_**?"

Damien leaned over the hood of the vehicle to look at his father getting in. They had finished packing up what little items they had kept at the warehouse, and most of their men had already left. Left for a designated area that Damien had yet to be told about.

Jaw clenching tightly, he looked over at David Van Halen. His black eyes glittering dangerously.

"You heard me." David looked down at his sleeve casually. Buttoning the cuff that had become loose from around his wrist. "We need to make sure that they don't give us the slip, Damien. We've got one shot at this. Only one. We can't afford any mistakes."

Damien ignored his father's excuses. Eyes narrowing as his mouth compressed into a thin line. The tension in his body speaking volumes in comparison to his softly spoken words. "Bull. This is nothing but another one of your games, Father. And I'm getting pretty damn tired of being forced to play them."

David looked up at his son. Features suddenly very serious. "Oh, I assure you, this is no game. You… are the best. You are my son. And you've already told me how you will not fail me in this fight against that twisted species. Now, it is your time to prove it."

Damien snarled lividly. "By ordering me to infiltrate their ranks?!"

David chuckled. "You have a job to do, Damien. And I trust that you'll make me proud." His lips twisted, smile fading away. "For I can assure you, if you do not, you **_will _**share in their fate. Besides, you already have the trust of two of them. If that girl Sophia is as valuable as Creed said she is, then you shouldn't have any problems." David turned around to get back into the black van. Before sliding in though, he turned one last time. Damien didn't like the glint reflected in his eyes, and he watched him warily.

"By the way, I wouldn't get too attached to that blonde if I were you. She may be a pretty face, but once this is all over and done with, we won't be keeping any pets."

Damien clenched his fist at his side. Years of training himself to be as emotionless as hard stone standing him in good stead as he father chuckled cruelly at his son's darkened countenance. Damien refused to give him the pleasure of any reaction at all to his fathers' barbs, but the tightly clenched fist didn't go unnoticed by David.

"You see? I **_do _**know you." With those words, David slipped back into van, and Damien was forced to step back as the vehicle came to life. Slowly driving past. Damien's black eyes following its progression.

Two other similar vans followed behind. The windows so darkly tinted that you couldn't see in regardless of how dark it was outside. 

They roared by, leaving him standing alone in the night on the edge of the road as they disappeared around the bend. Exiting Wolf Lake, but not for long. They'd be wrapping up the last minute preparations. Getting everything in order for the coming battle.

Damien turned his back on the sight. His inner turmoil close to the surface as he began to walk down the concrete road. Boot heels clicking and the leather duster flaring out behind him.

"No, Father. You do **_not _**know me. But you will… **_soon_**."

With those heavily spoken words of promise, Damien stalked carelessly past the familiar sign entitled "Welcome to Wolf Lake", pausing only briefly to take in the view from the top of the hill. Looking down on the waters of the Lake, and the faint lights of the town surrounding it. Large, wild snow-capped mountains rising their jagged peaks to the stars framed this place. The mountains, sentinels that appeared to both protect the town from the outside world… as well as keep anyone from leaving.

The sight would have been beautiful in its untamed expanse, if it weren't for the crimson orb shining down from above. Preparing to set as the night gave way to the approaching dawn. The corrupted moonlight reflecting in the waters of the Lake… Causing it to ripple like blood in the chilled night air. Still heavy with the scent of the hard rain that had fallen earlier.

Damien tilted his head slightly and smiled cruelly. Looking at the view as he started down the hill, a breeze blowing a small strand of his hair back from his pale temple. The light in his eyes somewhat triumphant as he slowly made his way into the heart of the small town. Planning already in motion… The fading light from the moon casting strange shadows at his feet… The path he was taking giving off the appearance of a red glow as it heralded his arrival... Its part in the prophecy undeniable with the proof currently of the treacherous enemy cloaked in its embrace.

******************************************

Okay, that's it. I give up. I'm no longer going to try to figure out how much longer it will be till the final episode, because I have no idea. This story is refusing to end… So make yourself comfortable, we might be here a while. (sigh)

Damien is interesting, isn't he? Do you think he's good or evil? Tell me…

Don't forget to check out [www.pvtonline.com][1] this coming Tuesday night… The first chapter to my Virtual Continuation of Season One, "Wolven Behavior" will be 're-aired' there in its new home page… Please drop in…

I want to take this time to also answer a question that some of you have been asking me…

Many of you have been wondering if after I finish the Virtual Continuation of Season One, if I would go on and do a Virtual Second Season… well, if I had been pressed to answer this a few weeks ago, my answer would have most definitely been no… Which is why I believe it to be prudent to answer that question now, before I change my mind.

That answer is now a yes… I WILL be back for a Second Season… just keep in mind that it will be at least 4-6 months, possibly more, before I will begin on it… I need that time to work on some of my other projects that are begging for attention right now… including two other stories for WL that I've begun working on…

But I do believe that there are still many untold stories in Wolf Lake that I will give voice to when the time comes, so for those that have stuck with me throughout this whole series… I hope you will be with me again when the time comes… 

Take care! And please remember to review! (see? I told you I'd do it again)

(Sapphira)

TBC soon in Ep. 21 – "Treacherous Intentions" (Tentatively titled)

~~~~~~ 

   [1]: http://www.pvtonline.com/



	14. Ep 21 Dreams And Demons

Virtual Chapter Fourteen, Ep. 21 – "Dreams And Demons" 

**Important Info - **This story now has a really nice web site all to its pretty little self! "Wolven Behavior", "Eyes of Gold", and "Blood Moon" have re-aired the last few Tuesdays at www.pvtonline.com/wolflake/ successfully and the web site is up, complete with a few nifty graphics that all of you MUST see (one of which I consider to be the theme image of this virtual series… you'll know which one I'm talking about when you see it. I call it the "Prophecy" picture… ) and also very detailed episode summaries of the nine episodes that aired on TV before the show was cancelled. This will be the primary home for my virtual continuation of Wolf Lake. 

So, you will need to bookmark the site listed above, because this WILL be where the new episodes for Season Two will be posted FIRST in about six months. I'll still post here at ff.net, but it will be a week or so after the ep. has already aired at my new site. I'm giving Phoenix Virtual Television first dubs…

Also, I wanted to let you guys know that it is now, more than ever, so very important that you review. Not only does this tell me how much you're enjoying the series, but, as each 'episode' is re-released at PVT, I send the owner of the site a document of the best reviews that I received for that episode, in order for him to see how much the fans are enjoying it. It's been a kinda a sticky situation because CTTWLS aired here at ff.net first, so its not getting the amount of hits at its new home, as it does here… but even so, I've shown him the kind of reviews I'm getting here, and how many hits I'm getting on a weekly basis (in the hundreds) and he seems to be impressed. So I'm not too concerned just yet. The only reason why I'm bringing this up, is because he will be taking in consideration how well a series is doing, in order to figure out whether or not he needs to 'cut' a particular series from pvtonline.com… In other words, he can make the decision not to keep a Virtual Series around if it does very poorly over a period of time… which he is well within his right to do, because he has to take into consideration the quality of what he's offering to the masses. And I have no problem with this. 

I just wanted to share this with you, so you'll realize just how critical each and every one of your reviews are. I'm well aware that there are a lot of fans that don't review each chapter, and those that have never reviewed at all (shoot… I used to be one of those lurker types) but it really has become critical to whether or not I will continue with a Second Season, which I very much want to do. It's just that I made that decision, massively in part to the fact that I knew this series would get a large amount of exposure at PVT…

The reviews that I get for these last three 'episodes' especially, are going to be critical to the creation of VS2, and to the marketing of my series… So please, whether or not you make it brief and to the point about why you've enjoyed this series or a particular episode, or you become more detailed in your praise, in the end, its going to be those reviews that determine whether or not this series continues… And keep in mind that I won't be the only one reading your reviews, I'll be sending them to the owner of PVT to show him that I'm worth keeping around, and I'm guessing he'll be sharing that with the viewers of the site... So, make sure you spell check your reviews and that it's easy for one to read… (wink)

Also, if you would like to add reviews to some of the previous chapters, that would be greatly appreciated as well, as it will give me extra material to send along at the appropriate time. You guys are now and forever my critics, and I need every review of praise I can get in order for this series to continue.

On another note, the other thing I wanted to bring up with all of you, was to tell you about a new story that I've fallen in love with. I'm making this suggestion on the behalf of one of my devoted fans, Nightwriter, who has written the beginning to one very kick-ass original story that is really incredible. If you love Wolf Lake (and of course you do, or you wouldn't be here) you'll enjoy this story. Please check it out, and give him the support that this story deserves. You can link into his story below… Trust me, you won't regret it.  Heaven knows I'm already addicted. 

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1169193

Keep in mind that after ff.net splits into two different web sites (one for fanfiction, one for originals) that this link will change…

~~~

Warning - The dream sequence coming up in the next part is rather graphic. I did my best to tone it down, but even so… Consider yourself warned.

Summery – As Sophia is haunted with a dream from the past, Damien comes to join the Pack in their battle against the Hunters – and his father. But who's side is he really on? As events begin to unfold, the next page in this chapter of their future turns…

~~~~~~ 

Sophia's body was curled protectively against Luke's, even in their sleep. The underground room was cloaked heavily in darkness, only the small muted glow from a lamp in the corner cutting through the blackness. Casting dark shadows against an already heavily shadowed surroundings. And only the soft, gentle sound of a clock ticking from an end-table nearby interrupted the heavy silence. 

Lost deep in sleep brought on from the lack-thereof and extreme exhaustion, Luke failed to notice the slight tremors racing through Sophia's body. Or the frown that marred her smooth forehead, the whimpers that came from her throat, as strange, unfamiliar, and unsettling images began to dance within Sophia's sub-conscious as horrifying nightmares. Her mind lost to the past… Called there by some un-seen force from deep inside her soul.

The small lamp in the corner of the room suddenly burnt out. The bulb making a metallic popping sound as it died. Plunging the room into complete and utter blackness.

*** __

_A part of her knew this was a dream. Knew that it couldn't possibly be real. But the other part of her knew that it could still harm her. Wrap her up in the horrific images of blood, death, and destruction. Wrap her up so tightly she would never be able to separate herself from the people, hundreds of people, dying all around her. Desperately trying to cling to their loved ones, as their lives slipped from their grasp._

_Sophia looked around in horror. Not able to understand or comprehend so much carnage. Tears streamed, unchecked, down her cheeks. The smell that hung in the air was like an oppressive weight in her chest every time she inhaled. Thick with ash, and the scent of blood and burning flesh. The scent of death._

_She was standing out in the open. Bare feet rooted to the cracked earth beneath her. Earth that was literally trembling from the atrocities taking place around her. The reverberation of the hoof-beats pounding harshly into the ground as figures from hell, clothed in black, and riding dark horses who breathed smoke into the cold night air, charged throughout the village, and in-between the small huts, that were currently going up as blazing torches. Greedy flames of hatred licking up to the night sky in triumph. _

_She trembled in gut-wrenching fear as her eyes went wide and her pupils dilated. Reflecting the scenes taking place around her._

_Men were burnt alive, screaming in agony, while the women were brutalized and sliced open. Their hearts cut out, and their heads removed from their shoulders. Children were pulled apart by those riding the horses from hell, silhouetted by the black of midnight, the glow from the rings of fire surrounding them. The sounds of their tortured shrieks ringing painfully in Sophia's ears._

_And the blood… The blood was everywhere…_

_Opening up her mouth to let out a cry of her own, her throat refused to operate. Her lips refused to speak. It was like her voice had been ripped from her, swallowed up by the violence, smoke, and agony._

_Looking around her in hopeless confusion, she wanted to run. Wanted to get away from this place as fast as she could. Get away from the sounds, the images, and the smells. _

_But her feet wouldn't budge. She couldn't even turn her head. Her body was heavy and sluggish. Refusing to cooperate. But her mind was not. Her mind was hers, and the panic that was welling from within her was choking._

_Turning away from the violence and the screams, she tried desperately to focus on something, **anything, **else. _

_And that was when her eyes were drawn to a woman – maybe a couple of years older than herself – Kneeling nearby. Her oval shaped face, which, once upon of time must have been filled with wonderment and innocence, was now haunted and smeared with blood. The now age-old dark eyes staring out at Sophia **were** no longer innocent. But the eyes of someone who had seen such horrors that even the ones happening around them paled in comparison._

_They were the eyes of a woman who had been through hell… And was still there._

_Their eyes met, and the strange female slowly stood. Her waist-length black hair fell in waves down her back. Matted and dirty. Dull with ill-care. _

_Sophia gasped as she saw the condition of the woman's body. Torn and bloody, her dress was hanging by shreds. The lacerations in her body from something that could have only been from a whip. Some of the cuts were still oozing blood, while others were caked with dull brown. And one particularly wicked slice that looked to be the freshest, that lay across the side of her cheek, Still trickling blood steadily that coated that side of her face and neck. Soaking at the neckline of the tattered dress._

_They raced madly across her torso, chest, and thighs. With no pattern or consideration of her sex. These blows had been meant to slowly, excruciatingly, kill her. _

_Sophia's hand flew up to her mouth as she let out a moan. Unable to believe that the woman in front of her could still be alive after being beaten repeatedly with such a heavy hand. _

_But it was what she was holding in her arms that sent Sophia tumbling to the ground. Her legs no longer able to support herself. The sobs ripping soundlessly from her frozen throat._

_It was a child. A young boy. Only about six or seven. Still a baby. The woman's arms were coated with blood, hers, and the child's, as she looked back at Sophia. Seeming to be oblivious to the rest of the world. The screaming, the pain, the torture. The destruction. She didn't even seem to be aware of the dead child she was carrying. For dead he was. The entire left side of his skull was caved in and a mass of bloody mush. Sophia gagged at the sight. Her fingers burying into the parched dirt she was sitting on. Looking down, she saw the stains of splattered blood soaked into the black ground. Tainted dirt that she was currently sitting on, but she couldn't find it in herself to care._

_Looking back up with tears streaming down her face, She saw the strangely calm girl was almost standing over her. The boy still cradled to her chest like the most precious of jewels, but she never spared him a glance. _

_Sophia looked at her in desperation. Reaching for her voice once more, and not finding it. She tried reaching out to her mentally. Why, she didn't know. She felt strange with this woman. As if she should know her. As if she **did** know her. But she didn't. She couldn't. This wasn't a face of a woman you easily forgot._

_'I – I don't understand. What is this place? What's happening?'_

_The woman looked down at her sadly. 'Yes, you do understand. And you know what is happening.'_

_Sophia shook her head wildly. Hair flying about her whitened face. A tiny tendril catching on her cracked and dry bottom lip. Leaning forward, she pressed her palms to her ears in an attempt to block out the horrifying sounds of the massacre taking place. She could hear everything. Men screaming in hatred and defiance. Trying to fight back, even though they knew they were on the losing end. Women pleading for the lives of their children. The cries of the innocent as their lives were taken from them by the worst cruelty imaginable or unimaginable. _

_Sophia squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn't take this anymore._

_Suddenly lifting her head up, and finding her voice, she let out a scream. "No, I don't! Where am I?!" Why am I here?!"_

_The woman looked down at her. Dark eyes filled with grief. "To see. To understand."_

_Sophia's eyes were burning with emotion and smoke. Deep sobs welling up in her throat as she hugged her arms tightly around her body. Rocking her body slowly. Not only was she hearing them, but she was now **seeing** them. Every last one of them. The visions were intensifying. She couldn't turn them off. She couldn't stop them. Couldn't stop the pain, the death. It was never ending. An ocean of blood stretching out in front of her as far as she could see. _

_"To understand what?" Sophia whispered brokenly._

_She started when she felt the woman kneel in front of her. Pulling her gaze back up from the ground to meet those dark, age-old eyes. She smiled softly. Gently. Her hand reaching out to brush a lock of hair, back from Sophia's eyes. Leaving a small trail of blood behind that cooled instantly on her skin._

_"The Past, Sophia." She responded softly. Turning her eyes up to the night sky. _

_Sophia followed her gaze. Dreading what she was going to see, but unable to halt the instinctive movement._

_Up until this point, Sophia had seen everything. Had seen it, and had responded to it as one in her position would, but the sight of the blood-red moon shining down from above greeted her. Both familiar and alien. The embodiment of the Prophecy. _

_Looking away from the truth, her breath stilled in her throat. And in that moment, she understood. She knew what the truth was._

_Sophia looked away in a daze. Turning back towards the scenes of unspeakable violence taking place. She was in the past. In the Dark Ages of her people. She was witnessing just a small portion of the mass genocide that had taken place. Just a portion of their near extinction._

_And, just a sample of the demonic hatred that possessed the Hunters' souls._

_Looking back at the woman so close to her, Sophia shook her head again, softly from side to side._

_"Who are you?"_

_The woman slowly closed her eyes, and her chin fell. Reaching her hand up, she pulled a leather cord out from around her neck. Pulling a strange pendant out from underneath her filthy dress. The familiar crystal flaring brightly, even in the surrounding darkness, as it glimmered unexpectedly at Sophia._

_Sophia's gaze flew back up to lock with this haunting woman as her eyes slowly opened. Revealing faint golden flickers deep within the souls of her eyes. Slowly standing, her fingers dropped the crystal to where it glimmered in-between the valley of her breasts, despite the squalor of the dress it rested on. She began to step away, still carrying the dead body of the child in her arms_

_"I am the past. I am a part of you."_

_The words were becoming faint, as the woman retreated into the shadows. Leaving Sophia._

_Sophia tried to call out in desperation. But her voice was immobile once more, and she couldn't even lift her arms or move her legs in an attempt to stand, She could barely manage to pull air into her lungs. _

_With her paralysis, came her panic once more, as she began to believe that maybe, just maybe, she really was trapped. Trapped within these memories. Trapped within this past. Trapped amidst the raging violence that didn't seem to want to stop._

_This time, when she looked around, she saw not only the people. But the wolves. Wolves being slaughtered upon sight. Their hides cut away, almost like the Hunters believed that in doing so, they either gained their power, or entrapped their souls. The sounds of their snarls as they fought valiantly to save themselves and the lives of those close to them. Fought, and failed. The sound of their inhuman howls splitting the night, right alongside that of the cries of those still in human form._

_A silent scream clenched the muscles in Sophia throat, and she turned her head away. Unable to bear the sight anymore, for fear she'd go mad._

_It was then she realized that the fires were spreading. Racing along the ground at an incredible rate._

_It's not possible, she dimly realized. There's nothing out there to burn but dirt and the spilt blood of her ancestors._

_But burn it did. It swallowed up the visions and shared memories. It swallowed up her front-row seat to the Past. And for that, she was momentarily grateful._

_But her relief was short-lived, when she saw that it was racing for her._

_Eyes going wide, she tried in vain to move. To shift, to run away. To **live**._

But she was frozen just as if she were already dead. As if she was tied to this place, and the death surrounding her. Unable to run from her death, just like those that had died had been unable to run from theirs. She couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breath, as the intense heat hit her first, followed by the sight of the flames rushing closer and closer… Filling up her complete line of sight till she was completely surrounded by it. The brightness of it blinding her. Reflecting in the brilliance of the crystal hanging around her neck. Her own little fossilized flame.

_It was hot, so incredibly hot. It would begin to burn her soon. And sure enough, as if hearing her thoughts, it began to swallow up the distance remaining._

_Sophia screamed. Whether in her mind or with her voice, she didn't know, but she started screaming and didn't stop. Not even when the flames engulfed her…_

_*** _

Jerking upright on the mattress, the scream still on her lips, Sophia was greeted by complete darkness. Perspiration coated her body, causing the sheets on the mattress to wrap themselves uncomfortably around her flushed, trembling body.

And Luke was there. His arms wrapping around her. Pulling her into his embrace. She listened to the alarmed pounding of his heartbeat and just focused on breathing in the clean, clear air. Wanting to push away the memory of the all-too-real dreams and the smells. She imagined that they were still clinging to her, and she shuddered. Ignoring the hastily spoken questions that Luke kept repeating, asking her both on their mental link and vocally what in the world had happened to her.

Sophia couldn't answer. Couldn't speak. Part of her was afraid that she wouldn't be able to. That the dream's hold on her would still have her silent. Instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around Luke's neck, and cried while he rocked her gently in the embrace of his arms. Cried in the soothing blackness, where she didn't have to see anything. Her crystal pendant cutting into her breast from where it was caught up against Luke's rock hard form. The pain a relief in its simplicity.

She cried like her soul was breaking. The sound echoing in the soothing silence of the underground room for some time to come. Reflecting against the gentle whispered inquiries voiced by Luke as he held her. Her grip on his torso unyielding, despite his attempts to get her to look up at him and tell him why she felt like she was flying apart, both mentally and physically, right there in his grasp.

Maybe because she felt like she was.

****** 

Presley breathed in a deep shuddering breath. Holding it for a few moments before releasing it in a lingering sigh. Forcing all the muscles in her aching body to uncoil and relax. 

Dawn was breaking outside, and she could see its tiny fingers of light trying to penetrate through the small gaps in her heavy curtains. 

She was currently stretched out on her mattress, fresh from a shower that she had taken to clear the cobwebs from her mind, and rinse away the lingering scent of the warehouse and the torture she had been forced to endure. 

Bare legs gleamed in the soothing shadows of her room. The simple long white t-shirt she was wearing was, in actuality, longer than some of the dresses that she tended to wear. But the tail was riding up to where it clung against her upper thighs, and she couldn't find the energy within her to even bother tugging it down.

Staring unseeingly up at the plain cream-colored ceiling, she really couldn't find the energy from within herself to do anything. Not even the sleep that her body was desperately craving. She only knew that if she went to sleep, the nightmares would begin. And she didn't want that. She knew once they started, they would never stop. Never leave her dreams. The torture, the restraints, the drugs, the mutilations. 

Yeah, sure… her body was already pretty much healed except for a few lingering scars and bruises, but the damage was still impressed upon her soul. And she had no idea on how to erase it.

What had happened? What was happening to their world? The life that they had all known? Would anything ever be the same again?

Turning her head, she leaned her cheek into the cotton sheet underneath her head. Her mass of blond curls still damp and pressing up against the back of her skulls she shifted her position. Knees drawing up to her chest in a fetal position. Eyes continuing to gaze outward soullessly. 

The only good memory she had of the past few days, the only memory amidst those of pain and cruelty, of darkness and blinding light, was of Damien.

And even those memories were rather vague, up until he had come to her and Sophia, and had helped them escape. 

She had brief images, only bits and pieces. Throughout the tests they had run, throughout the harsh questions and drugged answers, she remembered the sensation of someone clothing her. Someone treating the worst of her wounds when an experimental anti-clotting agent had been administered. Someone stopping that monster, Eric, from going too far. Hearing the impact of a large body hitting the wall, when he would have ignored the order. The shadow of Damien's form falling over hers soothingly. Welcome in the hell she had found herself in. Her body being lifted up and off the dead weight of her lower torso as he removed the manacles, and carrying her over to the corner of the room, laying her down gently. Careful not to jar her injuries.

She must have passed out then, because the next thing she recalled was waking up to the familiar sight of Sophia chained up against a wall that she had just had her own back against. The crimson of her blood staining the concrete. Still wet.

Her memories flashed to the last one that she had of him. Right before her Change and during. The way he had held her gaze, unflinching. Even slightly awed by her ability.

She had never felt more proud of what she was, then she had been in that moment.

And the fact that he hadn't turned away in fear… hadn't turned from what she was in revulsion… that was a gift in and of itself. He knew their secret, he knew what she was. So there was no issue of having to protect the secret of the Clan. No smoke screens to be fanned. No lies to be made. No threats to be subdued.

Only problem was, he was a Hunter. Maybe a traitorous one at that, but still a Hunter.

Presley slowly shook her head. She was crazy for thinking so much about him. Chances were she'd never see him again. If they didn't kill him for his assistance to her and Sophia, then he'd fall back into the ranks of the Hunters… continue playing out his part.

He could only do so much, and he had had his chance when he'd refused their offer for him to come with them when they had escaped. 

So his fate was left up to a higher power now. She just had to forget him and move on, pretend that none of this had ever happened. Forget the sensual but hard lines of his face. Forget the black heat of his eyes. The surprising warmth of his fingers… funny, one would think that, given his frigid demeanor, his skin would be cold to the touch. It wasn't. It was all heat and pale strength and beauty. Much like himself…

Despite her resolve not to fall asleep, she slowly dozed off, mind drifting on the more pleasant memories, as the sun continued to rise.

And, unbeknownst to her, silhouetted the form of a man standing outside her curtained window. Observing her coolly through the small space between the panels. His mind working as to how to set his plans in motion.

****** 

"So what are you saying? That this dream was some sort of a flashback to the past?"

Sophia glanced over at Luke mid-pacing. "What else could they be, Luke? You didn't have them, didn't experience them... You don't realize just how real it felt. It was like I was right there. Living it."

Luke leaned forward from where he was sitting, watching her with concern. "Baby, you've been through a lot, it would only be natural that you were hav – "

Sophia cut him off abruptly. "Damn it, Luke! Don't patronize me! I know what I saw, and what I felt, and that was no dream. And it sure as hell wasn't something brought on by post-traumatic stress!" 

Luke ran his fingers tiredly through his hair, looking up at her from where he was seated. They had only been asleep for about five hours when Sophia's… whatever the hell it had been… had awakened her. She had been in a state of shock for a little while afterwards, not even speaking for almost an hour. And then the words had come so fast, he had had a hard time trying to keep up with them and her, as she circled the underground room like an encaged wild animal. Not even realizing how feral her expression had become.

"Then it was what, Sophia? A vision? A message from the past?"

Sophia crossed her arms and frowned at him in an expression that he had seen all to many times, brows arching, and eyes glittering darkly as she stared him down. "Why not? I mean, considering everything that has happened, it's not any wilder than what's been going on for the last two weeks."

Luke shook his head in disbelief. A distant corner of his mind recognizing that they were in the middle of what could only be considered one of their first major fights.

"Although I won't argue with you on that view point, I'm sorry, Sophia, but you've got to realize how crazy this all sounds."

Sophia let out a snarl and whirled away, showing her back towards him in exasperation. Luke's voice rose an octave to follow her swift movement.

"I mean, a message? From Rianna? What makes you think it was even her to begin with? You've never even seen a picture of her."

Sophia was silent for a moment. "She was wearing the crystal." Still having her back turned, Sophia ducked her chin and tried to ignore the burning behind her eyes. Shoot, if the situation was reversed, she wouldn't be too sure about her own sanity. But it still didn't mean that Luke's disbelief didn't hurt.

Silence fell as Luke contemplated the lines of her back. Noticing the tension to her muscles and the slight quiver to her skin. Letting out a deep sigh, he leaned back into the plush backing of the chair.

"Okay. Let's follow this line for a moment, shall we? Let's say that this dream was everything that you're saying it is – "

"It is." Sophia broke in defiantly, but Luke ignored her.

"Then what is the purpose for them?" Luke finished. "What reason is there for you to be having them?"

Sophia turned to look at him over her shoulder, and saw that he was looking at her seriously. Waiting for an answer. She shrugged slightly.

"Maybe it's her way of trying to warn me."

"Of what?"

"Of what happened the last time that the Hunters attacked. Showing me the massacre that followed." Sophia self-consciously raked her fingertips through her long mass of dark hair, pushing it back from the strained paleness that was her face. Luke noticed the faint shadows beneath her eyes that were starting to appear from the stress and the exhaustion, but knew that there was nothing he could do to alleviate that for her.

"But what good would that do?" Luke asked after a moment's pause. "We already know what happened – "

"No you don't." Sophia interrupted softly. Her voice filled with unspeakable pain as she looked back at Luke. The shadows beneath her eyes suddenly looking even darker in the dim lighting. "You have no idea what it was like. No idea at all."

Luke's eyes narrowed as his facial features fell into emotionless lines as he weighed her words, and sensed her pain. It was then, that he put aside all pretenses of denying that what she had experienced was what she was saying it was. It was then, that he realized that what she had gone through in that dream, was far worse than he could have imagine, and something twisted painfully in his chest to think that she had faced those demons alone.

"So…" Luke hesitated. "What does that leave us with?"

Sophia shook her head, un-consciously rubbing the frown marring her smooth forehead. Even more lost then he was. "I don't know, Luke. I don't know. I just know that I don't want to go back to sleep any time soon."

****** 

When Presley awoke, she was aware of two things. One, was that it was nearing the afternoon, and she had been asleep longer than she would have thought possible so soon after her stay at the warehouse, and that two, she was not alone.

Growl rumbling deep in her throat, in one swift motion, she was up and crouched on her mattress. Blond hair going wild, and eyes shinning bright gold. 

Gold that stuttered in shock, and then blinked out completely, as she stared in stunned surprise at her visitor… sitting in a chair across from her bed. Elbows resting on the arms, and fingers steepling in front of his unreadable face. His eyes dark shadows as he observed her in silence.

Presley frowned in disbelief, and looked around her room. Eyes darting to the large window… now open and the curtains pulled away. Wafting slightly in the cool breeze stirring against their tails.

Presley looked back at him, remaining crouched on her bed cautiously. "How did you get in here?"

Damien smiled to himself. Almost.

"You honestly think it would be difficult for me to open a window, considering everything else I've been trained to do?"

Presley swallowed. Once again reminded of what his profession was. What he had been trained to do since his youth.

She noticed then that the over-sized t-shirt she was wearing (with the over-sized neckline) had slid off one shoulder. A shoulder which still bore the remnants of a fairly nasty wound. Reaching up self-consciously, she pulled the shirt place in place, and kept one palm protectively over the mark. Stomach fluttering because she could feel him watching her movements. Gaze brushing over her skin and dancing across her features. Studying her openly. Unhesitant in his perusal.

"I think your real question is why I was able to get in without you hearing me."

Presley quirked a brow at that, palm still in place. "The thought had crossed my mind." She couldn't help but revel in the sound of his voice. Like velvet rubbing against polished stone. That huskiness echoed with the presence of an erotic accent she couldn't quite place. Its quality unique to her. 

This time Damien did smile. A small twisting of his lips that looked even more intimidating than the lack of one.

"I'm a Hunter." That last word was almost a hiss. Like it left a bad taste in his mouth. Presley noticed that he didn't elaborate, and she realized that she didn't care for him to. She didn't want to know what he had been trained to do. Somehow, she figured that that would only make things worse.

"How did you find me?"

Damien didn't answer. He just watched her.

"Why are you here?" Presley tried again. 

Damien's hands dropped and he leaned forward. Black eyes intent upon her face. 

"I've come to help."

****** 

"How long are we going to have to remain here?" Ruby asked Sherman as she munched on one of the sandwiches he had made the previous night. Looking up at him from where she sat cross-legged in an old over-stuffed chair that had definitely seen better days. Her and John had spent the night down here in the underground medical facility used for their kind. The dark and sterile environment slowly starting to bug the hell out of them.

John hated remaining underground when he felt his services would be better spent elsewhere… he was, after all, a cop. But Sherman had explained to him the precarious situation they had found all of themselves in… Ruby needed John. And the Pack needed Ruby. Which meant, that both of them had to be protected at all costs for the time being.

"Probably until later this afternoon. Vivian and Matt are working out the last details of the evacuation."

"Won't such a large amount disappearing from Wolf Lake so suddenly cause a little bit of a stir with the local media?" John asked tensely from where he was standing.

"Probably, but not as much as a few hundred half-naked dead people would. The Hunters aren't exactly known for their clean up work."

Ruby let out a breath. "I hate this," she breathed out. "I can't help but think I'm supposed to be doing more than I am right now. Aren't Sophia and I supposed to perform some huge miracle and save everyone?"

Sherman grinned at her. "Like what? Zap them with your laser eyesight? The real world doesn't work that way, Ruby. You know that better than most."

Ruby groaned. "Then why is it so important for us to remain hidden?"

Sherman looked at her obviously. "Oh, I don't know… Maybe because you've already been focused on once by the Hunters, and your ex-mate is trying to kill your new mate, and that there are those of your own kind that would kill him simply because he is an outsider and not deemed worthy of owning Skinwalker blood and abilities. Not to mention that you, as a white female, represent hope to the rest of the Pack's survival, a hope that, unfortunately, some of your own species might wish to crush."

Ruby looked away. Having not gotten the answer she would have preferred.

  John glanced over at Ruby, before turning his gaze over to Sherman. "When do you think the evacuation will take place?" 

"Matt and Vivian won't want to waste any time. Probably tonight."

John's eyes widened slightly. "Is that enough time for everyone to prepare?"

Sherman looked back calmly. "Prepare for what? They are leaving their homes and everything else behind, John. The only thing they will bring with themselves is their loved ones and the fur on their backs."

Ruby closed her eyes and sighed heavily. "I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe that we're really going on the run."

Sherman looked back at her steadily, but didn't answer. John observed them quietly as the silence stretched.

****** 

"This is crazy, you know. Regardless of the fact that you saved Sophia and me, I can't guarantee that Matthew Donner will be able to keep you safe. Or, if he would even want to."

Damien turned to look at Presley as they made their way to her car. "That's a chance I'm willing to take."

Presley turned away from the intensity of his gaze. "Even if it means your death." It wasn't a question.

Damien smiled secretively. "I'm not that easy to kill." 

Presley tried to appear calm and collected as she slid into the front seat of her car. Listening to Damien as he also slid into the passenger seat beside her. Trying to ignore the leap to her pulse when his thigh brushed against hers in the tight confines of the small vehicle. 

As she pulled out of the driveway, and onto the road, she thought back on the brief discussion that they had had back in her room, and realized just how little he had said.

Glancing over to see that he was watching her, she turned her eyes back to the road. Unable to deal with the heavy silence suddenly pressing in on them, she turned on the radio, and clicked to one of her favorite rock stations. Listening to the strains of an eerily familiar song, that strangely made more sense to her now than it ever had in the past.

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "Only the Strong" by Flaw on the albums "The Scorpion King" and "Through The Eyes"

I knew that when I heard this song I had to use it in here somewhere, and I thought that this would be as a good a time as any. I think that those of you that are familiar with this piece will agree that this is a perfect song for this 'episode'.)

Presley was confused. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel. She didn't know if Damien's intentions were what he said they were, or if she was inviting the devil's advocate into the Pack… But he had saved them. And he had cared for her, when things had been at their worst.

And, try as she might, she couldn't turn away from the fire she saw in the icy depths of those black eyes.

Damien was the first one to speak. The gentleness in his tone at odds with his cool mask of indifference. 

"How are you feeling?"

Presley swallowed reflexively against the sudden flashbacks his question sent through her, but kept her eyes on the road. "Better. The effects of the drugs have worn off."

"And your wounds?" his words were barely above a whisper, but she couldn't ignore him because he **_was _**watching her. Observing her body language, and studying her expression.

"Healed."

Damien turned away to look out the window. Muscle tightening in his jaw. "I'm sorry that that had to happen to you. I wish I could have stopped it sooner than I did."

Presley blinked away the sudden burning behind her eyes and gritted her teeth. She never cried. Never. And she wouldn't start now.

"You did what you could, and I won't forget that."

Damien looked back at her curiously. "You remember?"

The corners of Presley's lips curved slightly, as she glanced over to him for the first time in the last few moments. "I remember."

Meeting his gaze, she took in a small breath sharply as she saw the awareness in his expression. His frigid eyes briefly turning molten as those eyes held her. Held her, and then turned away. Releasing her.

Presley quickly turned her eyes back to the road in front of her. Trying to calm the pounding of her heart in her chest.

What are you doing to me? She asked silently. Not sure whether she was mentally directing the un-voiced question at herself or Damien. 

****** 

It was almost one in the afternoon when Sherman received the call from Luke. 

Listening to what the young male had to say for a couple of minutes, expression growing and more serious with every word he heard, before quietly reassuring him that he would be there momentarily.

Hanging up, he walked back into the sitting area where John and Ruby were curled up together. Both looked up at him in confusion. Having heard what Luke had been telling Sherman over the line.

"What's going on, Sherman? I can't reach Sophia on our mental link."

Sherman shook his head at them, as he quickly pulled on his jacket. "I don't know, and I don't have time to speculate with you. I'll be back in a little while."

As he left a bewildered John and Ruby behind, he turned once to look at them before slipping out the door. He pointed his statement at Ruby. 

"Till I have a better understanding of what's going on, don't go to sleep." Looking over at John, countenance stony. "Don't let her go to sleep."

Ruby's eyes widened at his statement, and before she could ask him what the hell **_that _**meant, he was gone. 

She turned to look at John in complete bafflement. He just shrugged. A frown present in his features as he rubbed her back soothingly.

****** 

Not much had changed in the past for Sophia and Luke, as she only continued to grow even more stressed with every passing hour. The memories of the dream riding her hard. She kept racking her brain to figure out what the hell it all had meant. Just what **_exactly _**had happened. But all she succeeded in doing was making the confusion worse… And her head just wouldn't stop pounding against the invading visions. Like demons that would never quit their constant battering at her senses.

After seeing little to no change in her over the last few hours, Luke had finally decided that it was time to call in reinforcements, and had given Sherman a call over at the underground medical clinic. He had listened, unspeaking, to Luke as he filled him in on everything that Sophia had told him about the dreams, and he had reassured Luke that he was on the way to see what he could do.

In the meantime, he watched helplessly as the shadows beneath Sophia's eyes darkened, and stress-lines became visible in her pale face. Eyes filled with pain as she fought the images crowding her mind. Each hour becoming more difficult than the last as with each that passed, the pressure only built.

Whatever it was causing this – and he wasn't sure if he believed that it was Rianna – it wasn't happy about Sophia not submitting to it. 

She was curled up into a ball on the couch. Chin resting on her knees as Luke sat behind her. Her back pressed up against his chest, seeking comfort as his arms remained tightly clasped around her torso. Just holding her till Sherman arrived. 

Sophia didn't think she could have held it together as well as she did if it hadn't been for Luke being there with her throughout all of it. Keeping her fingers entwined with his, she was able to find some semblance of grounding as she waited for whatever news Sherman would bring with him that would hopefully provide her with some way of turning the memories of the dream off from their constant replay in her mind.

****** 

After monitoring the public mental pathways of their Clan, Presley was able to pinpoint Matt and Vivian's location – currently at the Diner – and pulled up in front of it. Still not sure if she knew what she was doing. 

Maybe it would have been best if she had contacted Sophia. She knew that Sophia would side with Damien after all he had done for them, and she would have a much easier time of convincing her father, than Presley would have convincing her Alpha, that Damien's intentions were what he said that they were.

As if sensing her nervousness, Damien leaned over and placed his palm over the back of her hand, Lean, pale fingers grasping hers in reassurance. 

Presley couldn't hide the start that her body gave at the contact. Unprepared for the warmth in his touch. Looking up at him in surprise, her light-colored eyes locked on the darkness in his. Uncertainty warring with her attraction to him.

He's the enemy, one part of her mind screamed. Not only a human, but also a Hunter. A member of the race that was currently planning on destroying hers.

He saved you, another part whispered. He knows the truth of your species, and he's seen you with your fur on. And he's still **_touching _**you.

"It'll be okay." She was barely aware of his words as he spoke them soothingly, velvet sliding against stone. The sensual rasp tinted by that strange accent causing her eyes to darken noticeably. She felt the way his thumb rested casually over her pulse, and knew that he could feel it racing out of control.

It's fear, she told herself. Fear for his life, and fear from her worry if she was doing the right thing by bringing him before Matthew.

But she knew the truth. And she knew that the frantic pulse had more to do with the tiny little circling rubs he was stroking across the inside if her tender, still healing wrist. Almost as if he was trying to erase the memory of the manacles that had only a short while ago, been cutting into her flesh. Erasing the brutal memory, with one of erotic gentleness.

He was doing a pretty darn good job of it too. 

"I wish I believed that." She answered slowly. Never taking his eyes off of him. Watching the way his cold eyes thawed bit by bit, the sudden stillness in his body.

And then he was kissing her. Leaning closer and closer to her, till his lips hovered over hers. His eyes urging hers not to break away from his as those lips gently pressed down on hers. Shocking her with their warmth and taste as his hand released hers and came around the back of her neck. Tilting her face upwards to the desired angle, as his tongue slowly slipped through her parted lips.

And she was lost. Lost in the taste, and feel, and warmth of his mouth on hers and the sensations it sent through her body. Her kissed her with carefully restrained passion. Giving only what he wanted. Her taking only what he gave. Her eyes lost in the swirling blackness of his, so close to hers.

"Believe me." He whispered as he slowly pulled away. Putting distance between them once more.

Presley blinked. Slightly stunned at the skill he possessed. Quickly remembering where they were and why, she quickly stepped out of the car. Escaping the small confines and the temptation to pull him back to her and finish what he so carefully started.

Damien slowly followed suit, sliding out of his seat in the vehicle. Eyes sweeping over the parking lot, before coming back to hers as they looked at each other over the hood of the car. The light click of the door as he shut it firmly sounding in their ears.

Presley slowly turned away from him, and began to walk up to the doors, feeling the heat of his body pressing in close behind her as he followed her in. His unique taste still on her lips as she quickly licked them. Secretively savoring the flavor.

Setting her mind on the task at hand, and blocking out the memory of that kiss, she stepped into the familiar interior of the Diner, strangely bereft of any customers. 

Turning towards the back, she spotted where Vivian and Matt were seated. Deep in a discussion with several of the Elders. The older and wiser members of the Clan. 

Discussing the evacuation.

Squaring her shoulders and walking over, she was aware of Damien's eyes on her back as he stayed behind. She was aware of the curious looks in the group's eyes as Matt and Vivian saw her approaching them. Both of their gazes turning towards the strange young male standing a little ways away. 

Matt's eyes narrowed slightly, and Presley didn't have to turn, to know that the two were staring each other down. 

Matt whispered something to Vivian, and she nodded. Turning back to continue the conversation with the others, as the Pack's new Alpha slowly stood and met Presley halfway when the younger woman faltered at the sight of his approach. The lines of his body aggressive.

"Not here." he stated quietly, as he took her by the arm, and walked back over to Damien. Jerking his head towards the other end of the Diner, which led into the motel wing of the complex. Damien nodded slowly, and followed. Walking past the glass double doors into the Lounge, and deeper into the shadows of the abandoned Bar and Meeting Room.

Looking up at the cold edge to Matt's eyes, and the devil-may-care glint in Damien's, Presley's pulse began hammering painfully in the base of her throat once more, as her stomach tightened in nervousness.

What the hell had she just gotten them both into?

****** 

"So you're saying that you believe these dreams are coming from Rianna?"

Sophia nodded slowly, answering Sherman's question. "Yeah, maybe. I don't know. I don't know what else it could be."

Sherman frowned slightly. "And you're sure that these weren't just dreams? Possibly brought on by the stress of the last few days?"

Sophia glowered at him, despite the exhaustion written across her face. "Don't you dare start, Blackstone. I've been taking this from Luke all day. I don't need it from you. Not now."

Sherman held up his hands defensively. "Okay, don't get your fur all bristled at me. I'm just trying to help."

"Then help already!" Sophia groaned out as she dropped her head back into her hands. "It was so horrible…"

"It was a horrible time." Sherman replied gently. "Many suffered then."

Sophia picked her head back up to look at him. "But why did I have to experience those memories. What could it possibly be trying to accomplish?"

Sherman shrugged. "Maybe whoever is sending you these dreams, believes that it is imperative that you see what happened back then. Just what kind of brutality the Hunters are capable of inflicting."

"But why?"

"So you could understand what they went through. What your people went through, and could still quite possibly go through again. And then you would understand why it is so important that the Hunters can't win."

"But we're already preparing to evacuate. By this time tomorrow, we'll probably be in Canada. Wouldn't it stand to reason that the dream would have occurred days, or even weeks ago?"

Sherman let out a sigh. Lips pressing together wryly. "Maybe you just weren't ready to receive them back then." 

Sophia groaned. "I'm not ready for them now."

Sherman let a few moments stretch by silently, before finally speaking. "Sophia, I can't tell you what you want to hear. I can't tell you where this dream came from, because, to be honest, I've never heard of a member of the Pack experiencing them. I can't tell you their purpose, because I'm not the one having them, and even if I was, there's only been one. That's not much to go on."

"So what do a you suggest she do?" Luke interjected. Frowning down at Sherman from where he standing a couple of feet away. Sherman met his gaze briefly from where he was seated.

"Well…" Sherman drawled out. Looking back at Sophia thoughtfully. "We won't know more until she has another one, so maybe she shou–"

Sophia started shaking her head vigorously. Knowing where the Keeper was heading with this. "No. No, damn it. I'm not going to go back to sleep, so I can **_willingly _**have that dream again. I can't, Sherman! I can't. I can't do it again."

Sherman scratched the top of his head thoughtfully. "Well, then there really isn't anything else that I can offer at this moment."

Luke looked at him is disbelief and a slight twinge of anger started to boil. "What? That's it?"

"I'm drawing a blank here, kids."

Luke ran his hands forcefully through his hair in agitation. "So you're saying that there is nothing else that you can do or say for her?"

Sherman turned back to Sophia, who was watching him in hurt confusion. She had honestly thought that he would have had more insight into this thing than what he had already said. It had never occurred to her the possibility of it being an event that he had never heard of and had no knowledge of. 

Sherman looked back at her helplessly. "I'm sorry. I wish there was something more that I could do, but there simply isn't."

Sophia nodded slowly in an attempt to reassure him, Luke and herself. "Well, hopefully it was only a one time thing. Maybe some delayed message like you speculated. I'm sure everything will go back to normal."

Luke and Sherman exchanged glances, but didn't say a word. They didn't have to. Their disbelief that that would be the case was written all over their face, and to be honest, was reflecting within her own.

Normal just wasn't going to be on the agenda for them for a long time to come.

****** 

"Give me one reason why I should trust you." Matt stated simply as he stared a hole in Damien. Body tense with aggression. Damien just observed him calmly. Not appearing to be the least bit threatened.

Fists balled at her sides, Presley watched the exchange cautiously. Knowing that it could blow up at any moment. Teeth scraped nervously over her dry bottom lip as she waited to see what would happen. So far, Matthew hadn't shown any heavy signs of aggression (i.e. trying to rip Damien's throat out) and had listened to what Damien had had to say.

"Because I know them better than you could ever hope to. I know their weaknesses, and I know their strengths. I know what they're planning, and I know how to avoid them. You'd be a fool to turn away what I'm offering you."

Matt's lips twisted humorlessly. "Some would say that I'd be a fool to take it."

Damien tilted his head to the side. "That's your problem, not mine."

Presley allowed herself a mental eye-roll. Obviously, male posturing came in ALL species. She just hoped it didn't get Damien killed. She didn't care how well he had been trained. A human male couldn't hold out against a Skinwalker male. Not in an honest fight.

Could he?

Presley shook that thought away. No need to think about that right now. You're nervous enough as it is, without trying to figure out just what exactly Damien is capable of doing. That's all stuff you can figure out later, when he isn't in danger of having his head removed from his body by your newly appointed Alpha.

Matt studied him carefully, as if looking for something. Maybe for a sign of fear or nervousness and finding none. Finally, he nodded.

"I know that if my daughter was here, she would want me to give you the benefit of a doubt. And I know without even trying to contact her, that, because you saved her life and Presley's – not to mention already having provided us a ground-base of information to work with – she would be willing to trust you." Matt's eyes narrowed slightly. "Seeing as how you already appear to know quite a bit about us already, and you had no trouble locating one of our members, I can't exactly deny your request, because it might reveal our 'secret'.

"And then there is the interesting subject of your genetics. Even though you are incapable of the Change, you are a descendant of a Skinwalker ancestor. As such, I can hardly turn you away."

Presley blinked in surprise. What? What did he just say?

Ignoring the look of shock on Presley's face, and suddenly shifting demeanor, Matt slowly leaned forward, a distinct rumbling in his throat causing Presley's heart to leap into hers. Damien never changed his demeanor. The layer of ice over his gaze never broke, and his eyes never wavered. Calmly locked onto Matt's.

"If I ever so much as suspect that you are not on our side, I will kill you. Make no mistake about that. You get one chance. One chance, and that's all. I don't care if you lead us right to the sons of bitches, I don't care if in that process, I lose every member of this Pack. I don't care if you succeed in killing me…Rest assured, I **_will_** bring you down with me."

Damien didn't look away, as he calmly replied. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

Matt leaned back and nodded, glancing over at Presley, before turning his stern gaze back to Damien's and nodding again. Then he turned his back and left the two of them alone in the Inn's meeting lounge. Not having the time nor the luxury to watch the human male himself right now. He only could trust that Presley was capable of keeping Damien entertained till tonight, when everything else fell into place.

As soon as he was out of sight, Presley couldn't resist letting out a huge sigh of relief. Looking over at Damien, she watched him as he never took his eyes of the glass doors that Matt had already walked past. His black gaze strangely calm and unreadable.

****** 

Exhaustion beat at Sophia like a living, breathing thing. Constantly ramming her skull with its intensity, and causing the muscles in her limbs to protest harshly with every movement. Her body cried out for sleep. Sleep that she refused to give it.

Standing in front of the small mirror in the also rather small bathroom, she turned on the water. Watching as it began to fill the bowl. Slipping both hands under its flow, she slowly scooped a small amount up, and pressed it to her face. Sighing as she felt the cool liquid slip across her tired flesh.

Letting her hands fall back to the sides of the sink, where she braced the palms on the rim, she looked up at herself. Studying her now damp reflection.

She didn't know what that creature was, currently staring back at her.

Where her skin had been a light golden bronze recently, it was now pale and translucent. Pasty. Her eyes were blood-shot and swollen, and she was having a hard time focusing them. Very unsettling given her enhanced senses. Her mouth was extremely pale, almost blue, and her dark hair fell in tangled waves around her drawn oval-shaped face. Thin tendrils alongside her temples damp with the beads of water clinging to her skin.

Swallowing painfully, she dropped her gaze back into the still filling sink, and turned the faucet off. Bathing her face a few more times before the remaining pooled water slid down the drain.

She knew that what she was going through wasn't brought on by normal causes. Granted, the last week had been far from normal, and hadn't been that great on sleeping, but she had been getting enough to make by. Had even gotten a few hours last night before the dream had even begun.

But it was almost like the dream had fed off of her. The memories of it still feeding. Gorging itself. Depriving her of her strength and her will with each passing hour. Driving her closer and closer to the edge, and back into the dream's embrace. It was like the damn thing was real, a demon that was clawing from inside her. Battling her resolve against it, to be loosened in her mind.

Sophia looked back up at the mirror. Well, she wasn't going to let it. She wasn't going to go back to sleep, just so she could experience another dream like the one she had had. No way. Not a chance in hell. She may have done some stupid things in her life, but she wasn't a fool. And she wasn't about to become one now.

She knew that whoever or whatever had sent her that dream wasn't done yet. It wanted her to go back to sleep. That was why her body was being so brutally attacked by exhaustion.

And that was why she wasn't going to give in to it. Hell, if she could hold out against her Flip, she could hold out against this. This, whatever it was, wasn't going to win. Not at the cost of Sophia's sanity. Or what little of it she had left.

Steeling herself, she exited the bathroom and slowly walked over to where Sherman was preparing to leave. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight.

"Are you leaving?"

"I have to." Sherman answered apologetically. Turning up the collar on his over-coat. "I need to go back by my house and secure a few things. Pack up the more important documents of the Pack's history, and store the others. I've also got to take care of some minimal paper trails and burn some of the more recent evidence of the dealings within the Pack. We can't leave anything, no matter how minute, behind for the Hunters. By the time I'm done, The Pack should be ready to move."

Sophia's eyes widened farther, seeing out of the corner of her eye the way Luke crossed his arms in front of his chest as he listened to their exchange. "This quickly?"

Sherman shook his head wryly. "Let's just say that your species knows nothing if not how to pack light."

His attempts to lighten the mood failed, and he let out a sigh. "Matt and Vivian aren't taking any chances. Not with what the Hunters have on us. Currently, they're rounding everyone up. Letting them know what is happening individually to hopefully keep Tyler out of it."

Luke's eyes narrowed. "What about Tyler's goons?"

"What about them?"

"If they're still loyal to him – "

"Why would they still be loyal to him, Luke?" Sherman interrupted. Arching a brow arrogantly. "Matt is now in command. Those pups are not that dumb. Besides, Tyler betrayed all of us. Including his companions."

Sophia shuddered at the thought of Tyler. The memory of their last encounter still vivid in her mind's eye. "I still don't understand why he would have turned so suddenly against the Pack. It doesn't make any sense."

"Actually, it makes perfect when you think about it. Granted, he's always been ambitious… always believed that he would rise to the Leadership of the Pack. But in truth, he never had what it took to lead. Regardless of what type of leader he would have been. Ruby was his sure-fire way to rise to the top, or so he thought. But she was doing more towards destroying his image than improving it, by constantly desiring to be with John. Now, take into consideration what has happened recently. Vivian is now in power, Ruby went on the run, right into John's arms. John turns out to be a descendant of a Skinwalker, and because of the transfusion of Ruby's blood, has now Flipped and joined our ranks, with Ruby standing formally at his side as the white female. His number one enemy's daughter has become the second most powerful female in the Pack, a white female who has mated, if unofficially, with the Alpha's son. Also not one of his big fans. As soon as you Flipped, Sophia, Tyler knew the game was up. He knew that Matthew wouldn't be held to his vow anymore, and, as believed would happen, he has become the Alpha.

"The Hunters agenda just happens to come in here at the right moment in time. Tyler knew that he was in serious danger, what with five enemies that were now strong enough to take him down like the mangy mutt he is. He had to do something. Things aren't looking too bright here in Wolf Lake, either way you look at it, so he makes a deal with the devil, so the Hunters will turn a blind eye to him making an escape. His side of the deal, obviously, was to capture you."

 "Or at least just a portion of it." Luke interjected. "There's really no telling what else they asked him to do. He could very easily still be around. Waiting to follow through on the next part of the deal."

Sophia shook her head slowly. "I'll have to disagree with you on that one, Luke. Judging by the conversation that I had with him yesterday night, it sounded like he was scrapping the deal. He was going to leave Wolf Lake before the entire mess hit the fan, and the Hunters came looking for him anyway."

Sherman nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I would think so too. I'd figure that he is at least smart enough to realize that once the Hunters get what they want, they won't leave any survivors of the species."

Luke chuckled darkly. "Unless they figure he won't be able to do much in the way of procreating without the use of a female in order to continue the Skinwalker lineage."

Sherman shrugged. "Possibly, but I doubt that they would take that chance. Their hatred runs deep. And they are nothing if not efficient."

Sherman turned back to look at Sophia. Visible concern etched into the lines of his face. "Are you sure you won't think about what I said?"

Sophia shook her head. "There is nothing to discuss, Sherman. I'm not going back to sleep right now. At least not until we leave Wolf Lake."

"What good will that do?"

Sophia frowned slightly to herself. "I don't know. I just have a feeling that once I'm away from here, whatever it is that is causing this will have no further hold on me."

Sherman was quiet for a moment as he fastened the buttons of his over-coat. "You know, Sophia. Sometimes things aren't always what we believe them to be."

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Another quote from the ever-philosophical Sherman Blackstone handbook of "Helpful Hints"?" 

Sherman chuckled. "Something like that." He became serious once again. "Remember the warning you received a couple of weeks ago when I was in the Diner that afternoon?"

Sophia nodded warily. 

"Well, it's like that. There are some things, that no matter how frightening the experience itself is, that are absolutely necessary for your own personal journey. And there are some things that simply cannot be fought. I don't believe that whatever it is that brought on that dream – whatever it is that you are currently struggling against right now – has any intention of harming you. But I do believe, that it won't take no for an answer."

Sophia looked away as her heart gave a strange little leap in her chest at the truth of his words. Her words barely a whisper. "I don't think I can go through that again, Sherman."

"Sophia, look at me." Sherman gently beckoned her to turn back towards him. Once she did, he smiled slightly. Repeating the words that he had told her just a few weeks ago, back in the Diner. When he had sat in that booth for a couple of hours. Knowing full well what was going to happen. That she was going to receive the initial warning that came right before the Flip. Signaling the mind that the body was ready and nearing the Change. Craving it. Screaming for it.

"You're stronger than you think."

Sophia's eyes flickered back and forth over his face, before she too, smiled. Recognizing that phrase, and remembering the last time he had said them to her. He had been right then. She could only hope that he was right now.

Sherman grinned as he watched Sophia's body visibly relax. The glint of determination that suddenly came back to life in her tired eyes. Yeah, she'd be okay. A little rattled or confused maybe, but she'd be okay. And as much as he would have preferred to stick around to see the drama that was sure to play out – a drama that he knew was coming, but was pretty sure that she didn't – he knew that he had a lot of things that needed to be taken care of, and he only had a limited amount of time to do it in. 

Nodding once in reassurance, both to Luke and Sophia, he turned around to leave. "I'll see you later tonight. Matt and Vivian will come by to pick you up when it's time."

Sophia and Luke didn't respond as Sherman slipped on out. Heading up the hidden staircase that led into a deserted area of the Brewery. This place was nothing if not hidden exceptionally well from the public and the Pack.

Sophia tried to stifle a yawn as she slowly walked over to the fridge. Opening it up in search of something to drink. Spotting a soda – that was loaded with caffeine – she snatched it up and popped the top. Taking a deep sip before walking back out of the little nook and into the living room. 

Looking around her, she once again noticed the rock walls and ceiling, devoid of all windows. She couldn't halt the shudder that suddenly ran up her arms.

She didn't care if they were leaving Wolf Lake, just so long as she could get out the hell of this underground room, and back into the openness of the forest.

"It's been an interesting few weeks, hasn't it?" Luke asked as he plopped down on the couch. Beckoning at her to join him. Concerned by just how pale she was becoming. She was starting to look like death warmed over.

Sophia grunted a reply as she settled down beside him, bringing the can back to her lips for a drink. Luke pulled her into the circle of his arms, and he was stunned at how cold her skin had become. 

Swallowing nervously, he rubbed his open palms up and down her arms in an attempt to bring heat to her chilled flesh.

"Baby, you are not in any shape to be going anywhere tonight. What's happening to you?"

Sophia shook her head slowly. Rocking it back and forth from where it was resting on his chest. "I don't know, Luke. But I really think that once I get out of Wolf Lake I'll be fine."

Luke didn't answer. Letting his silence be his answer. He hoped she was right. As it was, he couldn't think of anything else that might help. He had been with her all day, and with every passing hour, it had only gotten worse. He could sense the struggle going on in her body. Very similar in a way to the battle that a Skinwalker would have between his or her human side, and that of the Wolven.

And in the end, he knew how that battle always ended. Either the wolven rose to the surface in a partnership with the human nature, or it escorted the human nature straight into its own death. 

So what did that mean for Sophia?

"Sophia… I think it would be a good idea for you to – "

"Don't."

"Soph…"

"I mean it, Luke. Don't you dare get started." Pulling away from him in exasperation, she sent a glowering look over her shoulder as she stepped away. Icy soda can still held firmly in her grasp. Her fingers were so cold by now that they were numb from the chilled aluminum, but she couldn't find it within herself to care. 

"I know you're worried. I am too. But I really don't think going to sleep is going to fix this. What if it only gets worse? What if the dreams only start to intensify with each successful one that slips past my barriers? What then? I don't even think I could survive it once more… much less have to relive it night after night after night."

Luke started to say something, but Sophia held up a hand in protest. "Not another word. We'll be leaving here soon enough, and then this whole day will be nothing but a really bad memory. Until then, Luke…Please… respect my decision."

Luke flexed his jaw but didn't answer. Leaning back into the sofa cushions as Sophia eased past him and the coffee table. Heading towards the kitchen.

She had only made it about 15 feet when it hit. A very deep, and extremely heavy shudder swelled up from within her. Coming in one large wave that completely shocked Sophia's system. Eyes rolling back into her head, and her entire body trembled with sudden weakness. Her view of the room starting to sway and become disorienting. She imagined that this must be what being drugged felt like, because all of a sudden, she had no control over her body. No control over her non-feeling legs as they gave out from underneath her. Sending her spiraling to the ground. No control over her dead-weight arms as they fell limply at her sides. Unable to catch her body as she fell, or even cushion it, as her face suddenly fell limply into the coarseness of the carpeting. Lids fluttering closed regardless of what she would have preferred otherwise, and she was distantly aware of someone calling her name. The sensation of butterfly wings brushing across her mind as someone tried to reach her through a shared mental link. 

Even as her eyes closed and the blackness came cascading over her prone body, she felt ice-cold liquid pouring against her side, and realized that if she opened her lids, just a little bit, she would probably see a large, dark brown stain of soda spreading across the carpeting and staining into her shirt. 

That was all she was aware of… That, and the echoing sound of her frantic heartbeat in her ears, slowing down as the dream world overcame her. Swallowing up its prize in victorious triumph after pushing her past her physical limitations and now carrying her off into oblivion. 

****** 

Final Note – (Pleased sigh) I think I find myself enjoying cliffhangers far more than is truthfully necessary…

It is just me, or did that one seem a little short? I don't know why I keep thinking that… it's over 11,000 words… Maybe it's because I've been writing close to 20,000 word chapters lately.  =p 

Oh well, don't worry… I plan on getting the next one out soon… There won't be such a long wait like there was with this one, simply because I already have almost half of the next episode written, and the rest planned out in detail… Just a matter of finding the time to wrap it up.

I realize that I already wrote a pretty extensive author's note at the beginning of this thing, but I find it necessary to write another about something else that I wanted to inform you of… But instead of typing out a message purely for you guys (because, frankly, it's almost midnight for me right now as I type this, and I want to get another thirty or forty minutes of writing time on the next episode before my eyes start getting blurry, and my brain turns to cotton from lack of sleep… You always know when its time to quit writing when you delete more than you type.) I'm going to just paste a post that I put up in about a dozen places on the Internet… Sorry it took me so long to get it up here…

Wolf Lake – The Virtual Seasons

Note to all Wolf Lake fans. This is an announcement to inform those of you that are not already aware of its existence, of the Virtual Continuation of Season One, currently being 'aired' at www.pvtonline.com/wolflake/   
  
I originally created the virtual continuation of Season One to be the ONLY season… ending with about 16 episodes… but, I have since changed my mind, and decided to proceed with a Virtual Second Season once the first one is completed.  
  
My reason for doing this is simple… I loved the show. I loved the world of Wolf Lake, and even though it is long gone, it continually surprises me, to just how many fans have come to it, just from reading fan-fiction and seeing the few but priceless web sites centered around it. People that have never even seen an 'actual' episode…  
  
But, despite its loyal fan base, most Wolf Lake sites and groups are dying out. Many are already dead. That, in part, is why I've decided to keep going with the virtual seasons, and to hopefully share with others this stunning, ever-evolving (if 'unofficial') world.  
  
Which is also why I have created a new Yahoo! Group, entitled Wolf Lake – The Virtual Seasons, which can be viewed at the following link…  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolflakevirtual/ 

  
It is my hope, that the fans of WL will treat the Virtual Seasons, like they would an actual TV series that sadly, only aired for nine episodes before being cancelled.   
  
And that is why I created this Group, in the hopes that the fans will come here and continue to talk with other fans and myself - friends new and old – about Wolf Lake… whether it be to speculate, review, comment, or ask questions anew about the Virtual "episodes" as they are released every Tuesday night… or to talk about the actual TV series, its stars… web sites of interest, fan fiction, petitions, soundtracks, and anything else related to the story of Wolf Lake…   
  
This Group also has the largest selection of Wolf Lake pictures, screen caps, images, wallpapers, and graphics available on the Internet… One-hundred and Twenty-Nine (129) to be specific, and I hope to add to them. These alone are worth seeing, because I'm willing to bet that there are some stunning ones here that you haven't seen before…  
  
Hopefully, this Group can be the new source of Wolf Lake information and enjoyment… even if it isn't being aired on the TV screen… but hey, that is why we were given imaginations, right? (wink)  
  
Please drop by both sites listed above, and hopefully I'll see you around the message boards!  
  
Till then, here's to keeping the spirit of Wolf Lake alive and howling…  
  
(Sapphira)

~~~

TBC Soon in Virtual Chapter Fifteen, Episode 22 – "Treacherous Intentions"

~~~ 


	15. Ep 22 Treacherous Intentions

**Virtual Chapter Fifteen, Ep. 22 – "Treacherous Intentions"**

((My goal was to post this chapter on the 14th, but ff.net shut down, so it's not my fault))

Dedication – To all the lovers out there, young in body, and/or at heart, on Valentine's Day! You lucky people, you! (wink) Hopefully the early release of this chapter will show you just how much all of you are in MY heart…

Author's Note – Just so there won't be any confusion, those of you that are stopping by this virtual series' official home, I consider it prudent to inform you, that, four of the episodes were given new titles, and they are as followed:

Virtual Chapter Four – Was "Moon of Revelation", now it is "Revelations"

Virtual Chapter Five – Was "Stars of Passion, Part One", is now "Actions Measured By Consequences"

Virtual Chapter Six – was "Stars of Passion, Part Two", is now just, "Stars of Passion"

Virtual Chapter Seven – "Trial By Moon", is now "Trial by Moonlight" (This one is tentative… it may be given a completely different title later on.)

Also, ALL the summaries were given a "face lift" for better eye-catching potential on the home page of Phoenix Virtual Television. 

But, despite the small changes made, all the text is the same. Nothing has been changed in the actual episodes. Eventually, when I have the time to do so, I will make the changes listed above to the episodes posted at ff.net themselves, so expect that to happen in the near future…

And okay… this episode is another two-hour one… Because I **refuse** to be delayed any further from getting to the finale, WHICH WILL BE THE NEXT EPISODE!!! … Even if it has to be a three hour event… =-p

Don't forget to review and tell me what you think!

~~~ 

Summery – As Sophia is lost in the embrace of the dream realm, she will come face to face with her ancestor, as the past and present meld… Ruby will deal with a stunning revelation…Presley is drawn deeper into her attraction towards Damien, but when the "Darkness" strikes, and the final battle begins, what will his true motives reveal?

~~~ 

"So what happens now?" Damien inquired simply as Presley and him walked through the forest. Having abandoned her car at the Diner. If everything went the way it appeared it would, she wouldn't be needing it again, anyway.

Presley glanced down at her watch, a small frown creasing her forehead. "The sun will set in a few hours. I have a feeling that Matt and Vivian will want to move quickly, and begin the evacuation then."

A muscle jumped in the side of Damien's cheek. "What about the children? Those that have not completed the Change?"

Presley glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Well, that comment helped answer her question on just how much he knew about her species.

"What about them?"

"How will they survive the journey?"

"Even though they haven't successfully made the Change yet, their bodies are still very adept at surviving in harsh conditions. Even those situations that would prove to be too much for human children."

"Are they strong enough?"

Presley's lips tightened. "Hopefully. We'll do what we can to make it easier for them."

Damien let the subject drop. They continued to walk in silence.

He hadn't seemed surprised when Presley had told him that she would rather walk tonight, than drive. And inwardly, Presley had been flattered that he had offered to join her.

As she made her way through the thick foliage, her fingers brushed up against the various tree trunks like the caresses of a lover saying a final goodbye, and, in her mind, she really was.

This forest had been her home. **_Their _**home. This town had been her life. She had always thought that she would never leave it, and now the prospect of doing just that was unsettling. It was like losing sight of an integral part of herself, and she wasn't quite sure on how to deal with that.

But she was glad that Damien had come with her. Even if it sometimes felt like they were on opposite sides of a large cavern. When the differences between the two of them, and their lifestyles, history, and even their destinies seemed almost insurmountable. 

And then there were the times like when he had watched her Flip. His eyes gazing at her in admiration of her ability. Her beauty… The vision of him sitting across from her bed, waiting for her to awake, and the way he had looked at her then…His eyes staring into hers, drawing her in deeper and deeper into their depths as he had kissed her. The taste of him still lingering in her mouth like a tormenting phantom. Just a blurry, faint reflection of the real thing.

And it was those times that she wondered if they really were that different at all.

"What are you thinking about?" Damien asked after awhile of watching her movements through the forest. Observing the almost primal grace in the way she moved through the foliage. 

Presley let out a sigh, and looked towards him, eyes darkened with emotion. "I'm leaving my home. Most likely forever."

Damien's black eyes softened gently in sympathy. "I know."

He seemed so completely different when they were alone, Presley marveled. Sensing how close his body was to hers, almost protective, but yet at the same time allowing her the right to her space.

Not many guys she knew were like that. Not with her.

He didn't offer any other words of comfort, and she was glad for it. He just silently supported her as they slowly made their way through the forest aimlessly. Not really going towards any destination or location. They hardly ever spoke, for there was no need to do so. Presley was showing him her world. The world that she was being forced to abandon.

After about two hours of this, he found out that she had been leading them to an overhanging cliff. The view below of the small town nestled into the wild, snow capped mountains. Such a sure reflection of the primal spirit of the town nestled within.

Presley stood there for a moment. Memorizing the view. Wanting to remember every tree, every building. Every ripple present in the Lake. The reflection of the setting sun sinking deeper and deeper into the embrace of the horizon shining in the water. Lined with the silhouetting shadows of the jagged mountains.

The sunset was flaring bright and bold, the colors almost painful in their raw and untamed beauty. Tendrils of color spreading out farther and farther across the sky. Growing dark at the opposite end. The night proceeding diligently as it slowly began chasing the brilliant shading away. A testimony left from the sun, that while it may be forced to concede to the approaching darkness, it would always come back, in yet another blaze of glory, to force the blackness of the night back into hiding. For neither could dominate the sky for long, in this endless war of countless battles, countless days, and countless centuries. 

This memory would be something that she would always carry with her. Its beauty and wildness never growing dim or fading with age. Forever as perfect as the moment she was in.

And there was only one ting that would make that moment more bittersweet than it already was.

Turning to look at the man standing beside her, so silent as he too, observed the view, she studied his profile. The chiseled beauty of his features. The paleness of his skin, and the liquid night that was in his eyes. Black hair pulled tightly back from his face in the ever-present ponytail. The mass restricted and guarded. Much like himself.

With that thought in mind, she reached her hand up. Fingers brushing up against the silken strands.

Damien turned his head to look at her inquisitively, but didn't make any move to halt the caress of her fingers.

Bringing those fingers up to the strip of black leather wrapped so tightly, she began to loosen it. Fingertips gently prying it loose.

He could have stopped her. She was surprised that he didn't. Her intentions were clear as to what she was doing, and she expected to feel those strong, beautifully sculpted **_warm _**fingers wrap around her wrist in the similar restraint that he had his hair held in, but that sensation never came. In fact, he never took his eyes off of her or tensed against the slight pulling sensation of the wrap releasing. Sliding down the thickly bunched strands, and slipping free.

He watched her, his face unreadable, as her fingers combed through the black thickness. Reveling in the silken texture.

Pulling away, her hand dropped back to her side as she studied him.

Oh my.

Before that moment, his beauty to her had always been like an ice or marble sculpture. Exquisite, but yet at the same time detached. Aloof. Restricted. Cold to the touch, and completely unreachable. Untouchable.

That was why every time he **_had_** touched her, it had sent surprising shock waves through her to her very core. For in his touch she had felt fire. Felt passion. It was a living, breathing, **_writhing_** thing, just beneath that thick impenetrable layer of frigid ice and stone and restraint.

But when he had let her release his hair, she had cast aside that façade. And she wondered if he had ever let anyone get close enough to do that. To so quickly and effortlessly remove the almost-perfect illusion he had constructed around himself.

Leaving in its place an erotic vision, which she never would have believed would have been this powerful. 

He didn't just overwhelm her... He **_shattered _**her. 

He stood in front of her, the light from the receding sun glowing brilliantly in his black eyes. A living flame glittering there that melted the last remnants of the thick coat of ice that shielded his very soul from view. Burning in his expression. An intense play of shadows and light shifting in the structure of his face. Bringing his pale-as-marble skin to life. 

A sudden breeze sent the loosened tendrils of his hair flying back. The cascade of the large mass falling around his broad shoulders and caressing the very air as it whipped around him. 

He was raw. Untamed. Like a large jungle cat that had finally been released from its prison. Passion, fire, and ice melding into one entity.

And that entity was him.

In that moment, he was as primal as their surroundings. As dangerous as the darkness beginning to descend. 

He's still a part of the Hunters, one part of her mind screamed. 

He's a part of **_me, _**Her heart cried out in retaliation. 

Words couldn't have described the way she had felt when Matt had admitted to knowing Damien's lineage. A lineage that Damien had calmly informed her of, once they had left the Diner. 

Her head was still reeling with that revelation.

But now, looking at him, her own personal angel and enemy rolled into one, she had never seen one that looked more the part of her species than he did in that moment. No matter how far removed that bloodline was from his predominate genes, it was still there. Still present. Just under the surface, but with a subtle difference.

The members of her species had always worn their primal force as a cloak around themselves. Reveling in the **_rightness _**of being able to do just that. Living by that.

But Damien **_was _**that force. He embodied it. Breathed with it. Pulsed with it.

And, it was in that moment that she began to understand just how dangerous playing with fire could be.

And yet its burn was nonetheless exquisite.

This time, his kiss wasn't as controlled or precise in its moment, as his arm suddenly looped around her waist, bringing her body up against his unyielding one. Mouth coming down on hers forcefully. Recklessly. Passionately. Bruisingly.

Presley let out a small cry in shock at the masculine feel of his body pressing into hers. A cry that ended on a whimper as she surrendered to the aggressive passion radiating from him, as his hand buried itself into the mass of blond curls. Supporting her head, while at the same time insuring that she didn't flee from the earth-shattering connection that was forming between them.

Nothing could have been further from her mind.

The fire shooting through her veins caused the display of the final moments of the sun's setting to pale in comparison. It danced along her skin, burned in her body, and raced through her mind. Mimicking the motions of his tongue as it rasped against her own sensuously. 

Her hand clung to the back of his neck, fingers brushing into the released silken mass of hair. The other clung to the fabric over his heart, feeling the way it pounded against her palm. It's rhythm beating in tune with her own. She could feel the metallic disk hanging from around his neck. Still tucked securely under his shirt. 

She wanted to rip it off. Remove this last little barrier that kept her from experiencing his emotions, his reactions. The barrier that kept her from **_sensing _**the desire that he was feeling. 

But she also knew that it was too soon for him. His life had been spent in the shadows. His every move tightly controlled and monitored. A life spent in training from the moment he could walk in order for him to become a cold and mechanical killer. And she knew that he had revealed more to her in the last few moments than he had ever planed to reveal to anyone throughout his entire life. 

And it all had come about because she had loosened the bond holding his hair.

She didn't know if her senses could handle it if she removed that disc. That one last shred of control. That one last link that he sported from the life he had left behind, but was still very much a part of who he was.

And she knew without a doubt that it would be this day – or this night as it were – that would define the man he would become.

Her fingers dropped away from where they had been tracing the line of the disc. Yes, it would just have to wait for another day, another place, and another time.

Damien slowly pulled away. His eyes blazing down into hers as his thumbs gently traced the lines of her face. As he leaned his forehead against hers in an attempt to regain control, she could hear his ragged breaths, the racing of his pulse, and stubbornness flared up from inside of Presley.

Oh no, you don't. She thought, and she tilted her lips back up into his. Kissing him deeply, without thought as she clung to him, forcing him to give in to the moment as he continued to kiss her back, as the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and night began its descent.

And the blood-red moon began its triumphant rise once more, to reign in the darkness.

****** 

The first thing that Sophia was aware of, was that, in this dream, she was no longer in the middle of a village. No longer surrounded by the carnage and death that she had feared she would experience for a second time.

_Instead, she was standing in the middle of a forest. Fog tendrils wrapping themselves soothingly around her lower legs, trees reaching high into the night sky, in which a pure white moon glowed brilliantly against the backdrop of the stars that looked like diamond chips glittering against the black velvet of the universe._

_The air was pure. Containing no tint of the smoke and ash, the burning flesh or blood. It was crisp and cool. Heady with the scent of pine and rich earth._

_And she was standing there alone. Cloaked in the embrace of the welcoming forest. She couldn't help but tilt her face up lovingly to the night sky. A calm stealing over her heart that she hadn't felt in days, weeks, months. If ever._

_Reaching out with her senses, she bathed in the sight, scent, and sound of the woods. Listening to a brook babbling nearby, the sound of the night animals hunting for food. Rustling in the underbrush. Hearing the brief, haunting call of the owl as it sought its mate. Listened to the sound of the rabbit nestling deeper into its hole. Seeking to remain invisible till morning._

_But as peaceful as this all was, Sophia was suddenly hit with a discordant note. Something wasn't right, and it was interfering with the serene moment._

_Looking around carefully, studying the play of the moonlight and shadows spilling across the forest floor, and the lines of the trees, it suddenly clicked with her what was bothering her._

_She couldn't hear the wolves. Not a howl or a cry. Not a single sound of the underbrush rustling as they slipped through unnoticed in the welcoming darkness, or the sound of their fur rasping up against the bark on the tree-trunks. Not even the barest hint of their pheromones or musk on the wind. Nothing._

_Frowning, she took a step away from where she had momentarily been rooted, planning to step deeper into the cloak of the trees in order to seek them out, when movement from the shadow closest to her caught the corner of her eye._

_Turning quickly towards the intruder, she took a step back. The fine hairs at the back of her neck bristling in alarm._

_The intruder stepped forward, and the shadows that she had been submersed in fell away, revealing her identity to Sophia._

_Sophia swallowed nervously, but yet, at the same time, she could feel the muscles uncoiling from their dying nervousness as she acknowledged the woman's presence._

_"Hello, Sophia." The woman greeted her gently. Voice soft and beautiful, yet strong._

_"Are you...who are you?" Sophia stuttered slightly. Eyes widening as she took in the woman's appearance. She was no longer dressed in that filthy, torn rag of a dress… her body was no longer covered in slashes and blood. Her hair was no longer matted and dull, but glowed a rich mahogany and fell in curling waves down to her small tucked-in waist. _

_Her skin was pale and flawless. Shining like captured moonlight. A dress of dark blue clung to her body, stunning in its simplicity. _

_The woman smiled. Eyes warming. "As I said before, I am the past."_

_"Are you Rianna?"_

_The woman rose one delicate shoulder in a small shrug. "I have gone by many names over the centuries, Sophia. But yes, this is the form that belonged to the Rianna that you speak of."_

_"What do you mean? Are you her ghost?"_

_Rianna began to laugh. "No, of course not. Rianna's soul is departed from this world. I am no ghost. You might say though, that I'm the embodiment of her memories and abilities as a white female. I carry within me ALL the memories of the white females of your species, from the first one that was borne so long ago, till you and Ruby of the present."_

_Sophia frowned. "I still don't understand."_

_Rianna sighed. "Suffice it to say, that I'm a part of all of those chosen to lead their Packs as white females. The abilities and gifts that come from being a white wolf, stem from this part. From me."_

_"You choose who will be the white female?"_

_Rianna – or the thing that wore her skin – shook her head. "No, that doesn't come from me, but from a much higher Power, and is decided long before birth." Rianna paused for a moment before continuing. "Consider me the subconscious of your wolven nature. A nature that you already know is much different from the other members of your Pack. A nature that has helped you from the beginning by instructing you in what was necessary behavior on your part to establish yourself within the higher ranks of the Pack."_

_Sophia arched a brow. "So you're my guide?"_

_Rianna smiled secretively. "After a fashion."_

_"Why haven't I dreamed of you before?"_

_"Make no mistake, these dreams are not the normal way in which I communicate. I live within you, Sophia, or, within the part of you that is wolf, and you are already aware my placement within your mind. And that, in a way, I have been assisting you throughout the last few weeks. My presence was spilt due to the Prophecy, between both you and Ruby. A part of the white female's gifts given to you, the other part to Ruby. Only together, with your strengths combined, can you achieve full strength. And the reason why I have contacted you is because what I had to tell you, couldn't be done by any other option."_

_"Why did you show me that other dream? Make me re-live the past?"_

_"Because it was imperative that you see the truth. That you understand the carnage that the Hunters are capable of inflicting. What they **will** inflict again if given the chance."_

_Sophia shook her head slightly. Eyes bright as she watched the 'woman' across from her. "But we **are **leaving Wolf Lake. The Pack is already preparing for an evacuation. We depart tonight."_

_"**That **is why I'm contacting you. To inform you that no matter what you do to try to run from them, you will not be successful. You will have to face them. Fight them. Your people escaped your destiny once before, when you could no longer handle it… you will not be able to do so again."_

_"Why are you telling me this? Why haven't you made contact with Ruby? She's the elder white female."_

_Rianna smiled again. "But yet it is **you **that brings your line of ancestry to the forefront of this challenge. You are the descendent of Rianna and her mate. And it is **you **that wears the crystallized flame around your neck. Make no mistake, you were chosen for a reason, Sophia."_

_Sophia automatically raised her finger self-consciously to the necklace, and felt the chilled faceted surface of the crystal beneath her fingertips. Her hand dropped back to her side._

_"What is that supposed to mean?"_

_Rianna closed her eyes briefly, as if listening to something that Sophia couldn't hear. A moment passed before she opened her lids again._

_"There is not enough time left to answer all of your questions, Sophia. All of this will reveal itself to you in its own time. Just realize that the gem you wear around your neck is not just an ornament. It is a symbol of the white wolf, and has been worn by the white female down through the ages of your species. Rianna was not the first, and you will not be the last. And as such, it is more precious than you could possibly imagine, and in more ways than one."_

_Sophia acknowledged the seriousness of the older woman's tone, and nodded slowly. Not speaking. She studied the woman's form, now that she was closer, and noticed that her moonlight colored skin wasn't as flawless as she had originally believed. Faint white lines criss-crossed over her bared forearms, like fine spider webs. The scars tracing paths across her exposed throat and upper chest. Shimmering in the moonlight. _

_Looking closer, she studied a single line cut across her cheekbone. Remembering the torn and bloody flesh that it had once been, and felt a shudder race up her spine at the memory._

_Those scars had been permanent. Something that Rianna had carried with her long after the last remnants of the Skinwalkers had pulled together in order to leave the Old World behind. Badges of her courage in that dark period of their history, and Sophia realized that she must have not been the only one that had carried such tributes for the remainder of their days._

_"Something tells me, that this is not the only thing you wished to tell me." Sophia responded carefully. Eyes flying back up to look into hers as Rianna smiled sadly._

_"You must prepare the Pack. Warn your father of the upcoming battle. For there is no way that your species will be able to run from them a second time."_

_Sophia's chin rose a notch. "Then we'll fight them."_

_Rianna shook her head slowly. "Yes, you will fight them. And you will lose."_

_Sophia blinked. "Then why are you telling me this, if there isn't a chance of our survival?"_

_Rianna held up a slender finger. "Ah, but I didn't say that there wasn't a way to defeat them, Sophia. I just simply stated that fighting them, in a battle, hand-to-hand as it were, will not end this conflict. It will, in fact, ensure the destruction of your Pack."_

_Sophia's eyes narrowed. "Then what will work?"_

_Rianna tilted her chin up higher as her voice grew stronger. "Remember this, Sophia. There is a link running through the fabric of all the Hunters. A common thread tying each and every one of them together. Bound by blood and tradition. Sever that thread, and you destroy the Hunters."_

_"So they **can** be destroyed?"_

"Of course. They are not immortal." Rianna replied simply. Not elaborating further.

Realizing that that was the extent of what Rianna would say on the subject, Sophia nodded again. Tucking away that bit of information for a later time.

_"What made them like this? What causes them to hate us so fiercely?" _

_Rianna sighed again. This time, her image seemed to shrink. Her face going darker as she reflected on what Sophia could only imagine as being memories spent in hell. _

_"You might say that it is their destiny to hate us. You can say whatever you wish, about them being envious of our gifts, hating our beauty, and wanting to destroy us out of jealousy. Destroy the reminder of what they could never be. But the truth is, Sophia… this is what they were born for. The Evil purpose in which they were created for. There is no other available option left open to them, but to follow their nightmarish existence, and turn ours into a living hell."_

_Sophia frowned. "But they're not all evil." She argued. "Damien's ancestor was mated to one of our own. And Damien himself saved my life and Presley's back at the warehouse."_

_"Yes," Rianna conceded. "Yes, Damien's ancestor was. But he was also a Hunter, and one of a very strong lineage from within their ranks. He was just like them, Sophia. Just like them all, before he met Cassandra and because of his love for her, was able to turn away from the call of his destiny. But that is not to say that it wasn't a very difficult time for him. It is not to say that there have been those from within their ranks that have wanted to leave. Have wanted to stop the carnage, only to fail when the insidious call became too great for them to rejoin their brothers. Those who didn't have the value of a very powerful bloodline to assist them. Nor the strong mental bond with a very powerful female."_

_"Cassandra?"_

_"She was Rianna's younger sister."_

_Trying to ignore yet another reference to the fact that she was not actually talking to Rianna, but some**thing **that was projecting her image and memories, Sophia took in a shuddering breath, and cast her eyes downward. Studying the earth in front of her. "Is this your way of warning me that, no matter what Damien's intentions may be, he is still a danger to us and himself?"_

_'Rianna' didn't reply. But her silence was answer enough._

_"Okay…I'll take that as a yes." Sophia breathed out. Running her hands through her mass of dark hair. Pushing it away from her face, to where the long strands cascaded down her back. "It just seems so unfair."_

_"It is the way things are, and the way they have always been. Which is why it must stop **now.**"_

_Sophia's gaze shot back up to Rianna's in disbelief. Hands dropping away from her head to slap against her thighs uselessly. "And you believe that I'm the one to stop this?"_

_Rianna smiled again. Lips turning up secretively. "You will not be alone, Sophia. And your gifts are only just starting to come to life within you. Nonetheless, they will show you the way. Remember, these are the gifts that **I **gave you, because I knew you were the stronger one to handle them. Just like I gave certain gifts over to Ruby's possession, because she would be better suited to them than you would yourself. You two truly are two parts of the same whole, but yet, at the same time, so completely separate from one another. Diverse and unique. And it is these qualities that you both will bring to this time in your Pack's history, that will save them. But you must not be afraid of them, Sophia. Of what will be happening around you, as well as what will be happening **within **you. Don't try to block them out, like you tried to block out these dreams. Because to do so would most assuredly destroy **everything **that has happened over the last centuries… all working up to this critical **final** moment."_

_Sophia felt a jolt of fear run through her at the older woman's hard words of caution, but she made no comment._

_Rianna's gaze softened again. This time, she reached out a slender hand in comfort and Sophia felt the coolness of it brush over her cheek. The sensation of it that of sheer mist, insubstantial. Not the brush of skin upon skin that she would have expected._

_"And don't be afraid. This is what you were born for. What was meant to happen. I know it's frightening. I know it's painful, but nothing happens unless it was meant to. And I will always be with you."_

_Sophia was aware of two things. One, was that she could sense Rianna pulling away. Voice fading as it drifted on the surrounding fog, and two, the sensation of being slowly released from this place. The ties that had momentarily bound her being cut free one by one._

_She didn't want to go, she didn't want to leave. But, looking up into the dark depths of Rianna's eyes, she knew she didn't have a choice in the matter._

_"But I am afraid." She blurted out in desperation. "I don't know what to do!"_

_"You will learn, Sophia. As those before you had to learn."_

_"I don't think I can do this."_

_Rianna shook her head gently. "You don't have a choice. You can't choose what destiny you will be given. You can only fulfill it. This is something that your mother understood."_

_Sophia would have continued to protest, if it hadn't been for the reference to her mother. Mouth snapping shut in surprise, she could only look at Riana in confusion as she felt those ties become fewer and fewer. _

_Now the forest surrounding her was fading away. Her vision darkening till only the sight of Rianna standing in front of her was visible. But even that, too, was being swallowed up by the oppressive shadows._

_"Remember," Rianna whispered gently, her hand coming up yet again as she stretched out those pale fingers of mist to the crystal hanging from around Sophia's neck. "You will not be alone. Abilities you never could have dreamed of will rise to the surface to aid you, and powers that your Clan have believed dead ever since the migration to the New World, will also become known. The Hunters are not the only dangers that you are faced with, they are not the only "Darkness" shadowing your people…A mystery of the Pack's past will be revealed and answered, and all of this will happen through you, Sophia… So do not forget…"_

_Sophia barely heard that final sentence, so consumed with the sudden glow that was radiating from Rianna's fingertips. Hovering mere inches apart from the crystal. And the answering glow coming to life from within the pendant's core._

_Looking back up at Rianna in shock, she let out a gasp as Rianna's fingertips met the crystal, and a brilliant white light exploded outward, taking with it Sophia's view of Rianna as her senses were swallowed up by the strength of it. Severing that final tie… Sending her spiraling away from the dream world with an intensity that could only be likened to being set adrift in a ocean being bombarded by a ruthless and savage storm. Swimming in a blind attempt to escape the extreme, surging current as it pressed her higher and higher into startling consciousness…_

_****** _

Sophia jerked awake. Lungs instinctively filling to maximum capacity, as her shocked and very confused senses tried to take stock as to where she was now. 

Instead of the sight of the smooth white ceiling of her bedroom, she was looking up at one made of dark and oppressing rock. Chiseled roughly and simply broken away in others. The view unfamiliar. Where was she now?

And then it came back to her. She wasn't looking up at the ceiling in her bedroom, because that ceiling had been burned down. Along with the rest of her home. She was in the underground secret quarters of the Brewery. Hidden there till the Pack was ready to evacuate.

The memories of the dream quickly followed those of where she was, as she was bombarded with the feelings of displacement and lost time. Similar to what one usually felt when you took a long afternoon nap. Uncertain as to what the time was, or even what day. Wondering just how much of life had passed you by without your knowledge, and the feeling a less than pleasant one as it clung to your uncertain and muddled senses.

"Sophia?"

Sophia frowned slightly against the brightness of a lamp turning on nearby, and quickly turned her head away. Letting out a groan as she did so.

"Sophia? Oh, thank God, you're awake. I was so worried."

Sophia felt a slightly calloused palm stroke her hair back from her forehead as she turned to gaze up at her father kneeling over her. His face even more haggard than she remembered it being the previous night.

Sophia's frown deepened as she saw the almost panicked glint in her father's eyes. "Daddy? Is something wrong? What happened?"

Matt chuckled. Looking almost close to tears. "Baby, you've been asleep for almost five hours. Luke called us on the phone when he couldn't get you to wake up. I came as soon as I could, but you were still out of it for so long."

"Five hours?" Sophia repeated. Rather dazed at that revelation. In the dream, the passing of time had only felt like a few minutes.

"Sherman told us that you would probably wake up on your own, given time. But I was still so worried." Leaning over her, he briefly pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead before stepping back. His hand still tightly clasping hers as Luke stepped forward. Hand coming to rest on her hip as the other gently rubbed her cheek. "Hey, sleeping beauty… you scared the shit out of me with that performance."

Sophia smiled weakly. "I didn't exactly give you any warning, did I?"

Luke grinned at her, but it was a pale shadow of his normal devil-may-care expression. His eyes had a faintly haunted look about them. 

"I couldn't reach you on our mental pathway. I thought I'd lost you again." Although his words were spoken lightly, Sophia heard remnants of the fear he had experienced when he had been unable to rouse her. 

"I'm sorry I scared you." She reached a hand up to brush it over his cheekbone reassuringly, before letting her arm drop back to her side. Luke closed his eyes at the innocent contact, before reopening them. Their depths unnaturally bright.

Something flitted through her mind like the brush of butterfly wings. And it wasn't Luke or Ruby. Frowning slightly, she studied the memory that suddenly came to the forefront… A fragment of what 'Rianna' had said.

_…your gifts are only just starting to come to life within you. _

Looking up at Luke, in sudden, dawning comprehension, she reached her hand out again. This time, touching his forehead.

Listening carefully from within herself, and using their private link as leverage, she found the blocked public mental pathway that connected Luke to the other members of the Pack. Found it, and gently **_pushed –_** using an ability she didn't even think was possible up until just a moment ago – to press light into that heavy cloak of shadow that was sealing him off from the rest of the pack, pressed it, and removed it.

Her hand dropped back to her side once more as she smiled tremulously up at him. Reading the surprise glittering in his eyes, and then the massive amount of relief that he felt on having one of his wolven senses returned to him. He had been unable to contact help in their traditional way when she had passed out, and she could still read the uselessness he had felt because of it.

He didn't say anything, for there wasn't anything to that needed to be said. Taking her hand in his own, he squeezed it in thanks and gloried in the feeling of his mind finally being free. If he hadn't had his mental connection to Sophia the last 24 hours, he probably would have gone crazy.

Sophia took in a deep breath as she slowly looked around her. It was impossible to tell what time of day – or night – it was, as she was still underground, but the memories of the dream were starting to come back to her. Memories that she wished wouldn't, because then she would have to face them.

But it wasn't exactly like she had a choice in the matter, anyway.

Letting out another groan as strength quickly began to return to her limbs, she pushed herself up. Ignoring the steadying hand that her father offered to her, as she leaned her back up against the couch that Luke must have placed her on. Grimacing, she looked down to where she felt a cool dampness spread over one portion of her side, and she disdainfully studied the large soda stain soaked into the fabric. Her skin underneath feeling rather sticky from the carbonated liquid. 

"What time is it?" She asked quickly as she looked up at her father as he stood. Eyes clearing slowly as she finally got them to focus.

"Ah," he looked down at his watch, turning the face towards his gaze. "Almost nine o' clock at night. The sun set a few hours ago." He looked back towards Sophia. Expression grim. "How are you feeling?"

Sophia glanced over at Luke as he sat down beside her, his hand reaching out for hers, seeking contact. He looked back at her expectantly, observing her expression.

Sophia turned back to look at her father, mouth pressing together into a thin line. "I'm fine. I don't think I'll be having another one of those for a while."

"Luke filled me in on what has been happening since last night. The dream that you had. Sophia, why didn't you call me?"

Sophia's lips turned up slightly at the exasperated tone to her father's voice. "You had too much else to worry about, then having to deal with my problems. Besides, there was nothing that you could have done. I know that know."

Luke's eyes narrowed slightly. "What happened this time?"

Sophia shook her head slowly in disbelief. "Luke, even if I had the time to tell you, I'm not sure I could. But this time… it wasn't as horrible."

She looked back up at her father. Remembering what "Rianna" had told her. "We have to prepare for the worst. From what I can tell, our chances of leaving the Hunters behind are slim and none. We may have to face them."

Matt crossed his arms over his chest and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I would have expected as much. Is there anything else that you can tell me?"

Sophia shook her head. "Not anything that would make any sense at this time."

Matt nodded again, glancing back down at his watch. "Well, the evacuation will begin shortly, we need to go."

Sophia's heart felt like it skipped a beat at his words, but she nodded resolutely. Slowly standing up, she was rather pleased that her legs didn't give out from underneath her.

Looking around, she noticed that Luke and Matt were the only ones with her. 

"Is Vivian with the Pack?"

"In a manner of speaking. She's wrapping up the last minute details, and helping some of the families prepare the children. This won't be easy on them."

Sophia pushed her tousled hair back away from her face. Expression grim. "Tonight won't be easy on any of us. Of that I am certain"

****** 

Barely thirty minutes later, Sophia found herself walking through a remote part of the forest. Her father and Luke close by, as they all quickly made their way deeper into the heart of the forest.

They were heading towards the valley where the Meeting had been held only a few days ago. It's location a good one, for it was already some distance from the town and its human dwellers. 

But, as Sophia's ears proved, the humans would be talking about this night for some time to come. It was common to hear wolves crying out their song, and the people of Wolf Lake – or, primarily, those that didn't have pelts to exchange their skin for – had even come to expect it. But tonight, as she listened to the chorus being sent up around her, she knew that, even though the human population may not have been privy to the answers to the mysteries surrounding their shared town, how could they not sense the difference in tonight? In the utter sadness of the howls as the members of the Pack prepared to leave their home forever. Leave the one place where they had felt safe and protected from the rest of the outside world.

Letting out a sigh as she turned her sights up towards the blood moon that had decided to reappear once the sun had set, and her mouth thinned into a grim line. The song of the wolf would not be the only thing that people would be remembering from tonight. She turned away.

"We can't leave together." Sophia whispered under her breath, but her father heard her.

"No, we can't." he agreed solemnly. Eyes dark with the weight of the Pack's future upon his shoulders. "Vivian is giving the instructions. We're splitting up the Pack into small groups. We will all take separate paths, and hope that nothing goes wrong. Maybe if the Hunters succeed in getting some of us, they won't be able to get all of us."

"What about them finding out about the location where we are heading?"

"I haven't given it."

Sophia looked over at her father in surprise, but then dawning comprehension took its place. "I see. How do they know where they need to go?"

"Each group has been given a separate location to reach, apart from any other. They are to monitor the use of their words over the public mental pathway, until they reach their specified point. They will remain there until I send word."

"How many groups are there?"

"Around forty. Only Vivian and I know where each group is going, and where, ultimately, our new home will be."

Sophia was silent for a moment. She understood his reasons for doing all of this. To keep the Hunters from catching them all, and, to keep them from finding out the other groups' locations in case one member was captured and tortured for that information.

Sophia bowed her head. Sending up a silent prayer for those who might have to be faced with such an atrocity.

"How were you able to find out the various locations of safety, as well as the site of our new home?"

"Vivian and I had a discussion with the Elders of the Pack this afternoon. They're more familiar with the Upper Territories, and Sherman disclosed a particular location where the entire Pack would be able to hide in safety. At least until we figure out what our next move is. It's supposed to be in an extremely remote area, but well supplied with animals and springs. And a massive chain of underground caves and naturally formed tunnels."

"How would he know about this place? I thought the Pack never left Wolf Lake once we settled here, fresh off the boat."

"Good question." Matt muttered. "And one he didn't seem to be all that inclined to answer."

"What about the Pack's young? The ones that haven't Flipped yet? They will need more care and provisions than those of us that have completed the Change."

Matt's smiled wryly. "One thing our Pack has learned, and learned well over the years is the value of money to our survival in the world of humans, and how to handle it. Besides, most of what the young ones will need; meat, clothing, shelter, can be supplied fairly readily by the forests that we will be moving through, and the abilities we possess."

"They will be frightened." Luke warned, speaking for the first time. "It's been a long time since the young of the Pack have had to move freely amongst those of us with our pelts on." 

Sophia's lips tilted up in the corners, as his words brought back another memory, another time, when she had asked him to show her what the Change looked like. Remembered the combination of fear, heady excitement, and awe as she had watched him shift. It had been one of the most remarkable moments of her life, and a memory that she held near and dear to her heart.

"They will adapt." Matt answered simply, ducking under an over-hanging tree-limb in inky dull red darkness of the forest. "They don't have a choice, and nether do we."

****** 

By the time Matt, Sophia, and Luke came to a large overhang overlooking the meeting grounds, most of the Pack had already assembled. The remaining members were continuing to slink out from the bushes both in wolf and human form. Joining those down in the valley. Matt started down towards them. Leaving his daughter standing there, giving her a moment that he couldn't afford to spend with her.

Sophia felt a pang of nervousness hit her low in the gut, as she watched him walk towards the Pack. The last remnants of what had once been a race of _thousands, _was narrowed down to those she saw preparing themselves for the journey ahead.

Taking a few moments to study history in the making, she took it all in. The valley hadn't changed since the Meeting a few days prior, but it _felt _like it had been years since she'd been here last. And although the grass, trees, rocks, and mountains were the same, they felt slightly ominous with the crimson moon shinning brightly overhead. 

And she saw more than one pair of eyes drift up cautiously to study its progress as it crept along the clear night sky.

She just prayed that this would be the last night she would ever have to see it.

Looking down into the massive valley, her eyes carefully memorized the forty something groups she saw forming. Each one having been given the information on where to go to wait for further instructions.

"This is really it." She breathed out in disbelief. The serious actuality of the situation hitting her hard like a ton of bricks. "It's really happening."

She heard Luke take in a deep breath, but he didn't answer her. There was nothing he could say that would make this moment any easier, so he just shared it with her. Moving closer, she felt him seek out her hand in a similar fashion to the way he had several months ago. Before the death of his father… That long ago night spent listening to Miranda's singing...

It was hard to believe that it was all ending. All changing.

Looking over at the proud young man standing so calmly beside her, he met her gaze. Pale green eyes glittering steadily at her in the surrounding night. An anchor amidst the turmoil.

And, hand still gripped tightly in his, they began their descent to join their Clan. Leaving behind the memories of Wolf Lake.

****** 

Ruby looked up from where her and John were standing, and smiled faintly when she saw Sophia and Luke approaching them. Not even noticing how the various Pack members she passed, stepped out of her way in respect.

Without speaking, Ruby and Sophia embraced. Emotions running high on all sides as the two men that they loved watched on. Expressions resolved yet grim.

Slowly parting, Sophia looked around her. Recognizing most of the faces she saw. They were all nervous, even though they were doing an admirable job of hiding it.

Ruby studied the younger woman in front of her carefully. Concern visible in her silver eyes. "How you holding up?"

Sophia looked back at her and returned a version of the slight smile that Ruby had given her a few moments prior.

"I'm okay, I guess."

"And the dreams?"

Sophia didn't blink. "They're won't be any more."

Ruby frowned but nodded slowly, and releasing her hand, moved back to stand close to John, who was watching the happenings around him cautiously. His nervousness about the alieness of this situation apparent. Sophia looked back at him reassuringly, and then back at Ruby.

"You ready for this?"

Ruby shrugged carelessly. Her attitude reminiscent of the old Ruby that everyone knew her for. "Bring it on." She answered deadpan. Lips twisting wryly as she leaned into John. Resting her head against his chest. Letting his chin fall to rest on top of her head, his hands came up to gently rub her arms in comfort. Knowing full well that her emotions were running far higher than she was letting on. But Ruby was nothing if not good at pretending to be something other than she was. After all, she had had a lifetime of experience doing just that. Even with him.

Watching as a few Pack members walked by, Ruby's lips twisted even further when she caught the looks that they shot John. Her snorted, as she chuckled dryly.

"Something tells me I'm not exactly Mr. Popular around here." He murmured against the tiny shell of her ear. Ruby just shook her head, still chuckling humorlessly. "Get used to it, babe. It's gonna be that way for a while."

John felt his jaw tighten reflexively, but didn't respond to Ruby's statement.

Just then, murmuring began to run through the Pack like the steadily growing hiss of a snake, causing the fine hairs on the back of Sophia's neck to stand up. Quickly stepping over to where she could see what the fuss was about, her eyes widened at the sight of Presley coming through, looking extremely nervous and on edge. But she wasn't the object of everyone's attention.

Damien was with her, looking as calm as ever. At his side stood Matt, Sherman and Vivian.

Quickly moving forward, she came to stand by her father, but her eyes never left Damien's. Remembering back on what Rianna – or the essence of the white female – had told her.

"Damien…" Sophia trailed off, still stunned to see him there. He gazed back at her coolly, waiting for her to finish, and Sophia shook her head slightly before answering. "I'm glad you came."

Some of the ice in Damien's eyes thawed as he suddenly swallowed. He nodded his head slowly in thanks for her acceptance. 

Turning her gaze towards Presley, she couldn't help but quirk a brow at how tense the blonde was. Looking for all the world ready to take on the entire Pack if someone made one wrong move. Suppressing a grin, she turned to her father.

"Thank you." she said simply. Knowing that he would know what she meant.

He just smiled gently at her, before turning his attention the rest of the Pack. All standing round, tense, and waiting for their newly elected Alpha to speak. And more than a few of them were exuding hostile emotions towards the human in their midst.

Sophia's jaw clenched, and she moved closer to Damien protectively. 

"I don't think this is going to go over very well." Vivian muttered darkly to Sherman. Not that happy with the circumstances of the Hunter herself.

Sherman shrugged, studying the hard-edged profile of the mysterious young man. "Something tells me its not the first time the boy has been in hot water."

Abandoning the small group. Matt stepped forward. Observing the separated groups of his Pack waiting for him to say something. 

He purposely skipped the topic of Damien's presence.

"You all know what is happening tonight. What _has _to happen. The evacuation of Wolf lake was something that I had hoped would never happen, but now, it is becoming a reality." he paused for a moment, as if searching for the right words. Looking at everyone, his eyes were clear and calm despite the tension in the lines of his legs and back. "You all know what to do. What to expect. I dare not allow us to remain all together for very much longer, so if there are any last minute questions, please make them known now."

It didn't take long before a lone figure moved his way through the crowd so everyone would see him clearly.

Buddy, Tyler's right hand man, stood there recklessly. Challenge glittering in his eyes.

"I really don't understand why we're running in the first place. Wasn't it you that was going on about how important it was to remain in Wolf Lake and protect the humans just a few days ago?" The way his lips twisted distastefully on the word 'human' caused a muscle to jump in Matthew's cheek, but other than that, he gave no other outward expression of annoyance. 

"That was before we discovered the weapons that the Hunters had at their disposal. If we remain in Wolf Lake, we will either be killed or exposed. Most likely both. We can't take that chance. As for the humans, we can only pray, that when we leave, we will draw the Hunters away from the town with our departure."

"But who is to say that they even have these weapons that you've mentioned?" he argued. "Especially when you've only got the word of that blonde bitch."

Sophia could sense the sudden blackness admitting from Damien as he bristled at the insult thrown at Presley, and before he did something that would cause this whole situation to explode out of hand, she quickly stepped forward.

"And what of me? Are you calling me a liar?"

The entire Pack tensed at that, as they turned their eyes towards Buddy. He eyed some of them warily.

"I would think long and hard before answering that one, if I were you." Vivian pointed out from her position beside Matt. Eyes hardened visibly as she stared coldly at the punk.

Sophia didn't know what his answer might have been, but Buddy was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Even so, she caught the look of animosity he threw towards John. Frowning slightly to herself, she made a mental note to keep an eye on him over the next few months. Without Tyler around, he'd be pushing to take his boss's place.

And the last thing the Pack needed right now was another Tyler.

"Alright…" Matt stated calmly. "If there is nothing left to say, then it's time to depart."

Turning away from the Pack, he came over to where Sophia and Luke were standing. Ruby and John just a few feet behind them.

Stopping in front of his daughter, Sherman and Vivian also close by, he began to give the final orders.

"Okay. Sherman will go with John and Ruby. Vivian, I want you to take Luke and Sophia. I will follow behind shortly after making sure that everyone is out of Wolf Lake and the valley, and on their way. We don't want to risk leaving anyone behind. Don't wait for me. Go to your locations and wait." He turned to look at Vivian. "I'll find you then, once I know that everything is proceeding the way it should." Starting to turn away, he was confused when he felt a iron-clad grip place its hold on his arm. Turning towards his daughter in surprise, he looked down at her.

Sophia looked back resolutely. "No. We stay together. Ruby and I stay together."

"Sophia," Vivian cautioned. 

"No!" she shot that word towards Vivian, before turning back to her father. Eyes bright and clear, but burning with conviction. "We have to remain together. This isn't an option."

Matt studied his daughter. Gaze searching. "Why? Why isn't it, Sophia?"

Sophia hand fell away as words spoken to her in the dream suddenly came back. Ringing through her mind, along with the mental image of Rianna as they were spoken from her lips.

_My presence was spilt due to the Prophecy, between both you and Ruby. A part of the white female's gifts given to you, the other part to Ruby. Only together, with your strengths combined, can you achieve full strength._

Shaking her head a bit to clear it, her eyes refocused on her father. "You're just going to have to trust me." 

How could she explain it? How could she explain to them what had happened in that dream? That the person she had talked to, wasn't really Rianna, but something completely different? Some thing that lived within her? How could she explain something like that, in a way that they could understand? You had to live through it, experience it, to believe it. And even then, she only knew it was true, because she could now **_feel _**it. She could feel the intelligence and cognitive abilities of the white wolven aspect of her Skinwalker abilities. A calming presence somewhere deep in the back recesses of her mind. Only surfacing when necessary, but still very much present.

Maybe one day she would try to tell them. Maybe. But it wasn't going to be tonight.

"I agree." Ruby suddenly spoke up. Thumbs hooked in the belt loops on her jeans. "It's probably for the best anyhow."

Matt looked between them both. "You realize the danger you'll be putting yourself in? This is the whole reason why I kept you two apart for the last 24 hours. We can't risk losing both of you."

"We're not planning on getting lost." Sophia commented firmly. "And we're stronger together. I can't explain it to you, not now, but you've really just got to trust me on this."

Matt let out a sigh. Running his hands through his already heavily tousled hair. "You realize that I could just order you two to go your separate ways."

Ruby shrugged, a faint grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "By all means, if you think it would do any good, but I highly doubt it would."

Sophia smothered her own smile, and turned to look at her father innocently.

Matt shook his head. "Fine. If you two are staying together, then I know better than to try to separate you from John and Luke. You'll all leave out together."

"What about Presley and Damien?" Vivian asked quietly. Looking towards the couple standing a little ways away.

Matt started to answer, but Sophia cut him off.

"He comes with us as well."

Matt raised a brow at this. "Are you sure?"

Sophia shook her head again as another memory from the dream came to the surface.

_…It is not to say that there have been those from within their ranks that have wanted to leave. Have wanted to stop the carnage, only to fail when the insidious call became too great for them to rejoin their brothers. Those who didn't have the value of a very powerful bloodline to assist them. Nor the strong mental bond with a very powerful female."_

That had been an all-out warning from 'Rianna', and one she knew better than to try and ignore. Damien may want to leave the Hunters, but did he have to strength to do just that when it came right down to it? Was the small dose of Skinwalker DNA running through his veins strong enough to help him defeat his programming, as well as his birthright?

Ether way, she needed to keep him close. If nothing else, then in case she would have to link with him to pull him through it.

"Yes, I'm sure."

Matt nodded. "Then Damien and Presley will go with all of you. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded. Everyone, except for Vivian, whose face suddenly seemed more drawn than a few moments prior.

Matt stepped forward to pull Sophia into his arms. Sophia fought back tears as she hugged him back.

"I'll be right behind you, baby." Matt whispered. Throat husky with emotion. "Just stay safe till then."

"You be careful." Sophia murmured back. Tears stinging her eyes. She wasn't her father's sole responsibility anymore. Now, he had to look after the entire Pack, which meant one large final sweep of Wolf Lake and the surrounding area, to make sure that everyone was safely out.

Pulling away, she brushed the tears off of her cheeks before he could see them, and smiled tremulously back. Matt's palms came up to cup the sides of her damp cheeks, having seen the tears despite her attempts to hide them.

"I wish your mother was here right now to see just how beautiful and strong a woman you've become." he stated gently. "She would be so proud."

"She is here, Dad. In her own way."

Matt nodded, agreeing with his daughter's words, before slowly pulling away. Looking over at Luke, he nodded again, and turned away. Beckoning Vivian to join him a few minutes in order to say goodbye.

Taking a deep breath, Sophia turned back to look at Ruby, now standing only a couple of feet away. Ruby looked back, one brow arched. "Okay, would you mind filling me in on what happened during the dreams?"

Sophia opened her mouth, but couldn't find the words. Shaking her head weakly, she answered. "I don't know how to explain it."

Ruby's eyes narrowed as she tilted her head to the side in contemplation. "You know you don't have to."

It took Sophia a moment to catch on to what Ruby was implying, and the frown knitted across her forehead smoothed. Nodding, she reached out a hand to Ruby, at the same time she reached out across their private mental path. Ruby did likewise, merging her mind with Sophia, so she could see, hear, smell, and feel what had happened in both dreams. 

She became rather pale as she experienced the horror of the first one, and then frowned when she experienced the second. Carefully studying everything that 'Rianna' had said.

At the same time she was doing that, Sophia detached. Having no desire to relive some of those moments with Ruby. Waiting for her to finish, Sophia floated unobtrusively in Ruby's mind. Picking up some of the information that Ruby had compiled about her own unique healing abilities.

Wondering briefly if she had some of those same gifts, Sophia sent Ruby a brief mental question, and quickly received an preoccupied agreement as Ruby continued to study Sophia's memories of the dreams.

Having gotten Ruby's permission, Sophia quickly figured out a way to filter down into Ruby's body. Aiming towards the still healing torn muscle of her thigh, where Ruby had not yet healed the damage herself. 

Because this ability was still strengthening, Ruby didn't want to waste the energy she had recovered since saving Luke, that might be better served elsewhere later on. But if Sophia could heal the damage herself, then Ruby wouldn't have to, and then she wouldn't be encumbered by the still-healing wound. 

But that isn't what happened. Instead, something else that Sophia hadn't been prepared for. And it was only then that she remembered back on another comment that had been spoken to her in that last dream.

_…your gifts are only just starting to come to life within you. Nonetheless, they will show you the way. Remember, these are the gifts that **I **gave you, because I knew you were the stronger one to handle them. Just like I gave certain gifts over to Ruby's possession, because she would be better suited to them than you would yourself._

This wasn't something that required a go-ahead from Sophia. She didn't know what this new talent was, or what it was trying to reveal, but it was hurtling her forward, taking a completely different path in Ruby's body than she had had mapped out originally. Spinning her down and beyond any possibility of controlling it as it brought her closer to whatever revelation it would bring. Forcing her senses to expand on pathways that she didn't know existed, forcing her to search out… something.

And then Sophia **_felt_** it. A second life-force within Ruby's. A small yet steady flicker of energy that was rested comfortably in its oblivious mother's womb. A secret that no one had yet to discover, not even the couple that had given it life… Till now.

So baffled was Sophia by this new gift, she didn't fight it as it automatically scanned the incredibly small fetus, using a gift that there was no way she would know how to use if the white wolf within wasn't guiding her movements carefully. Checking it for any signs of problems or malformations. Showing her how to ascertain the tiny creature's condition, before also carefully demonstrating how to slowly disconnect without harming the fragile fetus. 

And then pulling her along another path – like an adult calmly leading an unresisting child – to where yet **_another_** life force beat strongly and secure. So in sync with its sibling to such a point where Sophia wouldn't have been able to make out its existence if she hadn't had a little help from this mysterious source.

Still feeling completely shell-shocked by this ability, Sophia hesitantly probed the second fetus. Scanning it in the way that the white wolven essence of her nature had just instructed her to do, before also gently disconnecting. 

One final sweep of Ruby's womb, and she was out. Hurtling back up the way she had come. Still remembering the sensations of being surrounded by those two gentle presences. And still very uncertain about this new 'gift' having been presented to her.

As she left, she could have sworn she heard 'Rianna's' teasing laughter flitting through her mind.

****** 

Matt and Vivian walked in silence for a moment; both of them had concerns that were weighing heavily on each other's mind. Finally, Vivian pulled Matt to a stop.

"I don't want you to go by yourself. I want to remain with you, at your side, as is my right."

Matt reached out a hand and cupped the side of her cheek. Thumb gently tracing her cheekbone reassuringly.

"You can't, V. You know that. I need you to stay with the others, not only for their safety but your own as well. I can move quicker and deal with any arising situations faster if you're not with me. I can't worry about what might happen to you if things go badly."

"That's just what I'm worried about! Things going badly." Vivian clarified. Feeling trapped and powerless. "Damn it, Matt… I've already lost one mate in the last year… I don't want to lose a second one."

Matt swallowed painfully, but his eyes remained clear and doubtless. "You have to do what is expected of you, Vivian. What is required. If I don't make it back, then it's up to you to keep the Pack safe. You're still partly their leader in their eyes." He caught her chin in his fingers when she would have turned away. Staring down into her eyes, he demanded her compliance. "V, you have to."

Closing her eyes, mouth slightly trembling, she nodded slowly. Agreeing. Knowing that he spoke the truth. This thing was bigger than just them. Bigger than all of them. So much was at stake, and they couldn't afford any loss of life.

Matt let out a pent up breath and leaned forward, capturing that mouth with his. Kissing her goodbye.

"Go on," he whispered as he pulled away. Distancing themselves. "Just walk away, Vivian. Don't look back."

Soul in her eyes, Vivian suppressed the tears she felt burning under her lids and did as he instructed. Turning away, she began to walk back to the group. Head held high.

But despite his request, she couldn't help but turn back once to look at the spot where he had been. 

He was gone. A pile of clothes left in the dirt to signify his Change.

And he had left no clues as to which direction he was heading. Just in case she had tried to follow him.

"Damn you, Matt Donner. You better come back to me in one piece." She whispered. Her voice almost choking on the words as a single tear tracked its way down her face. Quickly brushing it away, she turned back around, squared her shoulders, and started putting one foot in front of the other.

****** 

"Excuse me?"

Sophia forced a smile. "I'm afraid so."

Ruby blinked. "And you know this how?"

Sophia shrugged. "I guess it's one of my gifts. I know I'm right, Ruby. You're pregnant."

Ruby shook her head. Looking for all the world like a wrecking ball had hit her. John didn't look all that great either. Presley and Damien were doing their best to remain inconspicuous, but even Damien was studying this exchange with a vague sense of interest. 

"That's impossible. John and I haven't… I mean, while I was in… that is, we haven't…" she trailed off desperately. Eyes going wide.

Sophia looked back at her wryly. "That still doesn't mean that they're not there. Believe me, I know. I felt both of them. You're pregnant."

Ruby shot a look over at Sherman, who was showing far too much amusement at the whole situation than what would have been warranted. "How the hell did this happen, Blackstone?" she shot out in frustration. 

"Hmm?" Sherman looked back innocently. Pretending as if he hadn't heard Ruby's question. "Oh, yes, well… I really can't say."

Ruby's voice lowered to a growl as her eyes narrowed to quicksilver slits. "Can't or won't?"

He shrugged. "The ways of the Wolven are mysterious ones, Ruby. If you two haven't mated while in wolf form, then it most likely happened when John Flipped."

"But pregnancy only occurs from a Flip when the female is the one **_Flipping._** Not the male. And besides, I would have known if I was ovulating."

"Would you?" Sherman asked calmly. "What with everything you and him had just been through? Would you have really noticed if you were?"

Ruby opened her mouth to answer a most definite yes, but then snapped it closed with a click. Uncertainty glimmering in her eyes as she looked down at her stomach. A pale hand coming up to rest over her abdomen, as she let out a breath. Eyes still wide and dilated with shock… And a little bit of fear. Being a mother was definitely not something that she had dwelled on often. Especially in the last few years.

"And even if you had known, would it have changed anything that had happened? And as for pregnancies occurring rarely from a Flip, and only happening when it's the female party making the initial Change, well…" Sherman began to chuckle. "There's a first time for everything."

Wide silver eyes looked back at him, before blinking and turned to look towards John. Hand dropping away from her stomach.

Sophia stepped away self-consciously. Rubbing the back of her neck as she came over to stand by Luke.

"Great." she muttered, rather embarrassed. "Just what I always wanted to be. A walking, talking pregnancy test."

Luke suppressed his grin, and wrapped one arm around her waist. Pulling her close as she buried her slightly mortified face into his chest.

Vivian walked up, looking rather confused as to why everyone had such strange looks on their face. The last few minutes spent with Matt forgotten.

"What's going on?"

Luke spared Sophia the responsibility of answering. "Ruby just found out she was pregnant."

Vivian's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? What do you mean, just found out? How – ?" Vivian cut off her sentence when she noticed that Sophia had yet to take her face out of its hiding place. 

"Oh." 

A rather indelicate snort was heard from Sophia's end, and Vivian had a hard time suppressing her grin, despite the circumstances of the moment. She turned towards everyone else, and cleared her throat pointedly, setting aside her amusement.

"Well, a fascinating as this all is, we need to get moving. Now."

Ruby nodded quickly. Looking almost relieved at the distraction offered. John stepped over to her side, as quickly pressed a kiss to her temple. She looked up at him, searching his expression.

"Are you okay with this?"

John shrugged. "I always imagined having kids eventually, just not this soon. But yeah, seeing if we manage to actually **_survive_** the night, I think we'll make pretty interesting parents."

Ruby grinned weakly, and quickly pressed a kiss to her mate's lips. She couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of a mother she would be. But John was right. If they could survive this, then they could survive anything. As it was, these babies were a part of her and John. And that alone made them all the more precious. Even if their timing had been less than perfect.

She suddenly bit her bottom lip nervously as she looked at Sophia, who had finally disentangled herself from Luke. 

"Are they okay?  
  


Sophia felt a flush rise under her skin, but answered nonetheless. "They both appear to be doing just fine."

"Could you tell whether or not they are…"

"Male or female?" Sophia supplied. "No, not yet. It's too soon. In another few weeks… maybe."

Ruby nodded and let the subject drop. 

Turning to look back at the surrounding valley, Sophia's eyes swept its length. It had already emptied out fairly rapidly in the last twenty minutes. The last few remaining groups beginning to filter out. 

Gaze coming to rest on the sight of a few of the children, her heart felt heavy. She could easily read their expressions of fear and confusion. Most of them were unable to understand what was happening, and those that could tried to put on a brave face. Some of the really small ones were already riding piggy back on their older siblings who were also forced to walk on two legs instead of four. All of them bundled up and prepared for the long walk ahead.

They kept their chins held high and their manner strong. But she could see the uncertainty. The doubt. It was going to be harder on them than the rest of Pack, who had their wolven pelts to fall back into.

Turning away from the sight, Sophia brought her thoughts back under control. She couldn't worry about the others. Right now, her world didn't extend beyond her group and she had to keep it that way, or she would lose focus. And right now, that kind of mistake could get them all killed. From here on out, the other groups didn't exist to her, just as hers didn't exist to them.

Feeling a hand come to lay across her shoulder, Sophia turned towards its owner, and smiled softly at the reassurance in Luke's gaze, before he pulled away and began to disrobe. At least she had him. In the end, that was all she could ask for.

Stepping over to the side, she quickly removed her borrowed clothes. Keeping her eyes away from the moon above and the sudden clouds that were moving in to obscure its strange glow.

But before her muscles could even begin to tense with the oncoming Change, a frantic couple came running up to them. Their group standing a short distance away. The only other one besides theirs still in the valley.

The wife reached out to Vivian first, eyes dark with barely suppressed hysteria. "We can't find our son!"

Sophia felt like the ground had just given way from underneath her. Presley and Damien were standing nearby, having moved closer in when they had thought they were preparing to leave. Presley was in a half state of undress, and Damien had been pulling on a pair of dark leather gloves. Smoothing them over the backs of his hands. Both of them stopped what they were doing as did the rest of the group at the news.

"Oh, no." Ruby breathed at the same time that Vivian began asking questions. Eyes hardening.

"Where is he? Why isn't he with you?" There was a healthy amount of censure in her voice, and the couple swallowed guiltily.

"He was staying over at a friend's house this afternoon. The family said they would bring him with them when they came to the valley, but when they got here, they said that Danny had left their home a couple of hours ago. Saying that he was coming home, but he never did, and now, we don't know where he is!"

Vivian clenched her jaw. Wanting nothing more than to lash out at the parents for their lack of attention, but realizing that the woman was so close to a nervous breakdown, that it wouldn't do any good.

"He's probably at your home, waiting for you. Matthew is already doing a sweep of the area. I'll let him know to pick up your son. In the meantime, you and your group will just have to remain here in the valley till he returns with your son."

"Don't contact Matt." Sherman spoke up quickly. "He still needs to do a sweep of the area, and he can't do that efficiently enough if he has to lug young boy around. I know where this particular couple lives. I'll go fetch the boy myself, and bring him back to the valley."

"Matt ordered us to leave the valley **_together_**." Vivian argued. 

"I don't answer to Pack law, and you know it. Besides, we don't have a choice. We can't risk that this boy might not be the only straggler, and Matt has to move quickly to ascertain that."

"Matt still won't like it, Sherman."

"Then he doesn't have to know, does he?"

When Vivian started to argue further, Sherman broke her off. Tone biting. "I'm not asking your permission, Viv! Get over it. I'm going. And don't wait for me. I'll hook up with that old fleabag when he comes back around."

Vivian let out what sounded suspiciously like a growl underneath her breath, but gave up trying to argue with him. "Fine, but you better make it quick." 

Watching for a moment as Sherman quickly walked away, heading back towards town, she turned back to the couple, and jerked her head towards their group. "Stay together till he returns, but remain out of sight."

Not waiting to see if they would follow her order – and knowing full well that they would – she turned back to look at John, Ruby, Luke, Sophia, Presley and Damien, and took charge. "Alright, let's head out."

Sophia looked around her nervously, before allowing her body to shift. Bothered by this change of events. Her father was already putting his life on the line. Sherman had just left, and now there was a group stranded in the valley till one or the other returned with the young couple's son.

And there were so many reasons why these were all very bad situations.

****** 

It was a strange group that was currently following an unmarked route, to an undisclosed location. Quickly cutting through the wild overgrown foliage and trees… Efficiently slipping across springs and brooks. Surrounded by the nocturnal sounds of the forest. A group comprised of five wolves and what appeared to be two humans.

Presley had changed her mind about shifting and joining the group in wolven form, when she realized that because Damien didn't possess this luxury, it would have left him in a rather awkward situation. Instead, she had opted for walking along beside him to keep him company as they made their way deeper into uncharted and unfamiliar territory. 

For the most part, they remained silent. Damien was very quiet, unnaturally so, even for him. She guessed that this wasn't very easy for him either. He had chosen to leave behind everything he had ever known. And not only had he left, but he had joined up with the enemy. Giving away secrets that the Hunters would most likely kill him for if they ever found out where he was.

Presley wasn't going to let that happen, and she didn't think that Matthew Donner would either. When he had agreed to letting Damien join them, he had, in essence, brought him into the fold of the Pack. Which meant that as long as he didn't betray them, he was entitled to the safety and protection of the Clan, and only the Alpha could remove it.

Although Presley knew that there must have been a great deal on his mind, she had no idea of the complexity of the battle that was currently waging war from within the traitorous Hunter. She had no idea of the complexity of Damien's training, or the intensity of his programming. Programming that had begun at the moment of his conception.

Damien was struggling with an inner demon that he was already starting to believe he would never be free of. And the further he walked away from Wolf Lake, the more the battle intensified. Screaming in his mind, freezing through his veins, and burning in his skin.

But only the shuttered expression to his black eyes and the small tick in his jaw was testimony to his inner conflict.

Crossing over a particular rocky area, Presley's foot accidentally wedged between two ground slabs of stone, causing her to trip. Seeing her start to tumble, Damien quickly lunged. Wrapping his arm around her caught waist and bringing her back safely up against his chest. Her foot coming loose from the crack.

Presley caught her breath as she placed her feet back underneath her again. Taking her weight off of Damien's arm. Turning to say thanks, her pulse jolted in surprise as his mouth descended on her parted lips. Stealing her words away as his oh-so-talented tongue quickly slipped through to taste her.

Presley let out a silent moan, and kissed him back. Her hand coming up to frame the side of his cheek.

The kiss was over almost as suddenly as it had begun. Almost as if Damien had been using it as an attempt to momentarily escape the emotions warring within him.

But Presley had no way of knowing that.

Reluctantly pulling away, she smiled up at him. Fingers tracing his jaw-line as he looked down at her. His arm slipping away from its death grip on her waist, palm caressing the curve of her lower back before falling away completely. A small smile turned up the corners of his mouth, as he felt the way she shivered against the contact.

Making the first move to put space between them again, he took a few steps up the steep incline they were in the process of climbing, and held out his hand to her. Pulling her up the rest of the way.

Presley really didn't require his assistance, but the temptation was too great to be able to touch him again. 

Once they had made it over the top of the incline, surrounding wolves waiting for them, he dropped her hand, and let her take the lead again. Knuckles brushing over her hip as she went by, almost as if that minimal contact aided him in further pushing back the dark recesses of the powerful, insidious demands being made on his loyalty.

As Presley slipped on past and continued walking, it was a few seconds before he followed. Eyes glittering and pensive as he watched her walking away. For a moment, the stark horror of the battle he was fighting from within reflecting in his face.

But then he was moving, and the reflection fell away. His face once more expressionless, as he quickly matched the distance between himself and Presley, as if the slip-up had never even occurred.

But that still didn't mean that one of the white wolves pacing a little ways in front of them hadn't been watching. Seeing it for what it was.

****** 

Several hours later, they were still walking. Following a mental map that Vivian had been supplied with. The red moon was high overhead, occasionally shadowed by clouds as they quickly slipped by in the midnight sky, the glow shinning through the vaporous particles, while the eerie cast filtered down through the thick trees overhead. Mocking their progress.

They all did their best to ignore the haunting spectacle.

Sophia hadn't realized just how ram-rod stiff Damien's body had been, till she slowly saw that stiffness begin to ease its grip. While the going had been tough for him a while back, he now seemed to be loosening up. Still alert, but breathing less restrained. He grasped Presley's hand loosely in his own, as they picked their way over the rough uncultivated terrain.

Feeling relieved herself, Sophia was glad. Whatever problems he had seemed to have been experiencing, must have faded as they put more and more distance between Wolf Lake. His eyes had lost their hardness, and the muscles around his mouth had softened. Those same lips occasionally curving upwards at something Presley said or did.

Satisfied, she turned her wolven eyes back to the earthen floor, stretching out in front of them. Luke paced right along side her. His darker pelt rubbing up against hers almost playfully whenever he got the chance. It has hard not to be happy in this moment. Content with simply living moment by moment in their animal pelts. It was hard not to enjoy one another's company as they moved across the foreign lands as one group. One Pack. 

Despite the fact that each hour saw them further and further away from Wolf Lake.

Coming to a small clearing, Vivian paused, bringing the group to a stop. Wolven eyes sweeping the area as she mentally checked off their location.

Sophia padded over to stand beside her, her manner questioning.

'Where do we go from here?'

Vivian shook her fur out, dislodging a few bits of leaves and debris that had caught in the thick soft silver gray pelt.

'We continue to head northeast. We need to get a few more hours in before taking a break.' she turned her wolven head towards Sophia. Light brown eyes glittering. 'You realize that we won't be able to rest long. No more than thirty or forty minutes. We need to put quite a few more miles between us and Wolf Lake before this night is over.'

'I understand. My only concern is Damien, but he's very physically fit. He doesn't seem to be experiencing any tiredness.'

Vivian's dry laugh could be heard over the mental path. 'How can you tell with that one? He's more guarded than most of our own kind.'

If Sophia had been in human form, she would have smiled. 'True. But he's definitely holding his own.'

'Humph. We'll see if that's still the case in a few days.'

Chuckling across the mental pathway, Sophia turned towards Luke as he came up beside her. Pressing his muzzle into her ruff. Sophia rubbed her fury head back against his affectionately. Looking over to see Ruby and John standing close together just a few feet away. The contrast of the difference in their pelt color striking against the background of the darkened forest.

Turning back around when she sensed movement, they all followed Vivian as she paced out of the shadows of the alien forest and into the clearing. Tall grass and weeds partially obscuring their view of each other, but still remaining close as they made their way across.

Glancing up at the sky out of habit, Sophia suddenly came to a stop as the others kept on moving. Momentarily oblivious to the fact that she had paused. Turning her wolven head to the side, as her eyes searched the night sky, a sudden sense of foreboding overcame her.

Thick clouds were moving in to gleefully obscure the vision of the crimson moon. Completely obliterating its arrogant glow. Plunging the surrounding valley and forest into darkness barely penetrable by their advanced sight.

Sophia's stomach sunk like a brick as familiar words flickered through her mind.

_…Your people escaped your destiny once before, when you could no longer handle it… you will not be able to do so again…_

With dawning realization and horror, Sophia quickly sent out a mental warning. But by then it was too late.

Loud pinging sounds were heard going off all around them, followed by the muffled sound of impact against fur and the flesh underneath.

Spinning around in confusion, and a desperate sense of panic, Sophia tried to pinpoint the location of their attackers. Suddenly feeling something sharp and painful burrowing its way into her pristine white flank, she let out a yelp. Teeth automatically snapping at the small dart protruding.

She heard Luke call out to her across their mental pathway as she felt a horrific burning sensation start to spread throughout her entire body. The darts weren't drugged with a tranquilizer, she realized. It was something else entirely.

Body trembling violently in pain, it didn't take her long to figure out what that something was, when her body suddenly started shifting of its own accord. Despite the desperate attempts on her part to maintain her wolf form, her body was quickly changing back into that of its human appearance. Weakening her, and leaving her at a disadvantage without the use of most of her enhanced abilities.

Laying crumpled on the ground, completely naked, Sophia quickly brought her no-human head back up, tying to make use of the slightly poorer vision that she would now have to deal with, in order to locate the others.

All of them had befallen the same treatment. All being shot with one of the darts. Even Presley, who had been in the process of Flipping in defense when she too had been hit. The painful, burning sensation of being forced to change back into another form against your will all too familiar to her.

Coming to their feet, they were forced to move in closer to one another, sensing that they were completely surrounded and being herded together for ease of control.

A bright floodlight suddenly flickered on. Momentarily blinding the group before aiding them in seeing their attackers.

Sophia heard John and Luke growl under their breath. Instinctively moving to stand in front of their mates. Damien stood close by Presley, hardened black eyes tracking movement at a very fast rate, before coming to rest on the man standing about thirty feet away contemplatively. 

Sophia's heart thudded painfully in her chest as she recognized David Van Halen. Someone she would have preferred never to have see again. His manicured hands were clasped loosely behind his back, and well-groomed head tilted to side as if observing a vaguely entertaining show.

Lips twisting mockingly, he raised one hand from its hiding place, and gave it a slight twist. Signaling his men to reveal themselves. 

They all watched as the Hunters melted away from the tree-lines. Some pooling away from the shadows on the ground. Others dropping from various heights in the trees. Suspended by cables that writhed ominously against the backdrop of the foliage revealed by the blinding whiteness of the floodlight like slender black tentacles.

Every one of them was packing weapons. And every one of them had at least one pointed at the group of Skinwalkers they had successfully surrounded. 

Slowly, David began to clap. Everyone is the group turned towards the sound. Bodies all tensing in various degrees of defense and reckless hatred.

All except for Damien, whose eyes narrowed subtly as he observed the situation at hand. Expression revealing nothing.

"It has to be said," David spoke mockingly. "How ridiculously **_entertaining_** your performances have been, and how utterly **_foolish _**you were to honestly believe that you were doing something that I hadn't already predicted you would do, long before we ever even begun. I'm guessing strategy isn't a concept you're familiar with, so allow me to elaborate… Strategy is when you know your enemy better than they apparently know themselves. Strategy is when you figure out what your opponent's next decision will be, in response to each individual move that you make, long before you make them. Strategy is when you have manipulated them so far beyond your original expectations that you begin to lose interest in the battle, simply because it has become so **_utterly_** predictable. Really, I expected better from the descendents of the group of your foul species that evaded our radar during the 1600s."

"You shouldn't." a new, but sickeningly familiar voice spoke up from the shadows as a new form fell away from the shadows. Swaggering over insolently. A mocking twist to his lips as he surveyed the group. "Taking into consideration just how shallow the gene pool has become in Wolf Lake, it's any wonder that they've been able to manage as long as they have."

"**_Tyler_**." Vivian hissed. Eyes flaming with her hatred.

Tyler inclined his head towards her as if she had greeted him. "Vivian."

"You unimaginable son of a –"

"Now, now. No need for compliments." David interrupted. Looking rather pleased with himself. "Tyler here found himself unable to resist my offer when I originally approached him, in return for his services. You can hardly blame him for following orders."

"Like trying to kill my **_son_**?" Vivian seethed. Body trembling with restrained aggression. Barely suppressing her desire to launch herself at that traitorous neck.

Tyler chuckled cruelly, amused at the way her eyes glowed with hatred at him. "No, baby, call it a bonus. A perk to the whole arrangement. The real deal, was to insure your demise, but you've done a fairly good job of that on your own, without any assistance from my end." Tyler's hand swept over the clearing in emphasis, before turning back to look at her. Lips still twisted up in amusement. "But that still doesn't mean I would want to miss the show, anyhow."

"You see," David drawled out, interrupting the present conversation. "One thing that you didn't consider was the fact that a transmitter was injected into that blonde's arm. A microchip that has allowed us to track your movement, and predict your path for the last 48 hours. And although you may think that the remaining members of your Pack are safe, I assure you, it won't be that difficult to locate them either. Especially considering that we now have the newly elected Alpha's mate in our possession."

"You're mad if you think I would reveal anything to you!" Vivian spat out. Tilting her chin up in defiance.

"Oh, I highly doubt that to be true. Something tells me after you've experienced my hospitality for a few hours, you'll be more than willing to share your information."

Sophia heard another growl come from Luke, and she turned to look at him. His body tensing as if in preparation of attacking.

"Do you realize just how much you seem to love the sound of your own voice?" Ruby suddenly asked, sensing her brother's rising animosity, and seeking a way to defuse the situation before he got himself killed. One hand propped up on her naked hip. Dark hair falling in waves around her shoulders, as her silver eyes gleamed coolly and disdainfully back at David. Refusing to look at Tyler even though she could sense his eyes burning a path into her.

David began to laugh. A deep throated sound that rose the hairs on the back of Sophia's neck. Unwittingly, 

she reached up to grasp Luke's hand with hers. He clenched her fingers tightly in his grip. Linking them together. Nether knowing what was going to happen in the next few moments, but knowing that it wasn't going to be good.

_"…there is no way that your species will be able to run from them a second time."_

_"Then we'll fight them."_

_"Yes, you will fight them. And you will lose."_

Sophia closed her eyes.

"My dear," David bit out. "I believe I am entitled to enjoy the words I speak, for it marks the end of a century old war between my species and your unholy one. I have always had the upper hand, of course, but to finally see all my planning fall into place… well" He chuckled suddenly. "It just makes a person feel all warm and tingly."

"Don't think this is over." Sophia said through bared teeth, finally opening her eyes. Drawing everyone's attention to her for the first time. 

David just smiled secretively to himself. Eyes dark and malicious as he waited for the inevitable.

"Actually," Damien suddenly spoke up as he stepped away from Presley, never even sparing her a second glance as he moved away from the group. Eyes never leaving David. "That is **_exactly_** what we think."

Sophia felt the way her heart suddenly sank to the ground, and the ripple of shock that vibrated through the combined mental pathway, and fisted her hands at her side. Nails biting into her palms, as she watched Damien draw closer to his leader. Looking as if everything was right in the world.

_"…this is what they were born for. The Evil purpose in which they were created for. There is no other available option left open to them, but to follow their nightmarish existence, and turn ours into a living hell."_

"Damien?" Presley whispered. Face going white as she watched him walk away from her. Disbelief and dawning horror written clearly in her eyes, as her heart felt as if it had literally been ripped from her chest.

Damien did turn back around to face her and the group, once he pulled abreast of Van Halen. Cocking his head to the side, he studied her methodically. Eyes black chips of cruelty and ice. Lips curving tauntingly.

"Presley," he drawled out. Voice hard and cold. "I would like you to meet my father."

David chuckled as he saw those words sink in with the group of Skinwalkers. Relishing the moment with a passion. "Oh yes… another example of strategy that my boy here understands very well... **_Deception_**."

Presley flinched slightly at the callousness in Van Halen's tone, but her eyes remained locked on Damien's now completely unfamiliar ones. Realizing she had never known them to begin with.

"So it was all just a lie." She stated simply, mouth twisting in disgust. "**_Everything…_** It was all just a game to you? An act? It meant **_nothing?_**"

Damien shrugged. "You ever hear the story of the frog and the scorpion, my dear Presley? No? Then I shall tell it to you. One day, a frog was sitting by a river. Along came a scorpion, who wished to cross to the other side. He knew that the only way he could do so, was if the frog gave him a ride on his back. 'No,' said the frog. 'If I let you ride on my back, you will kill me.' 'No', the scorpion replied. 'If you help me to the other side, I promise I will not harm you.' 

"So the frog agreed. But, about halfway through the journey across, the scorpion struck, betraying the vow he had spoken just a few moments prior. 

"As the frog and the scorpion were swept down river, the frog cried out 'Why did you sting me, after you promised you wouldn't? Now, we will both die!' The scorpion replied calmly, 'I cannot help it.'" Damien broke off, eyes darkening perceptively as an unreadable smirk tugged at his lips. 

"I'm a scorpion. It is my **_nature_**."

*************************************************** 

(Looking up at the ceiling, rocking back and forth on my chair's skinny little legs and whistling far-to-innocently for my own good.)

TBC soon in Virtual Chapter Sixteen, Ep. 23 and the Virtual Season One Finale… no title decided upon at this time…

*************************************************** 

Brief Note – I just wanted to let everyone know that there is a poll on the home page of Phoenix Virtual Television, for the most popular virtual series. Please, please, PLEASE go to www.pvtonline.com and vote for Wolf Lake! You don't have to sign in or sign up for anything. Just go to the home page, click the box next to Wolf Lake, and press submit. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!!! The owner of PVT is using this to get an idea of which shows are popular and which ones aren't. So far, Wolf Lake is holding its own, but it is **_desperately_** starting to need your help! Please, if you want a Virtual Second Season, go vote!

Also, don't forget about my Yahoo! Group that I built for The Virtual Seasons. This is a wonderful place to visit on a regular basis, and its really starting to come alive now! And my "Photos" section now has over 150 pictures, images, graphics, screen caps, and wallpapers. This is also a great way to talk to other fans as well as myself, as it's not really possible for me to do so here. Here you can ask me questions and leave speculations and I'll be sure to give you an answer… Not to mention I will once in a while give out hints on my plans for the Virtual Second Season which will, if all goes well, kick start late summer, early fall… So please, make sure you drop by, and become a member! I look forward to talking with all of you!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolflakevirtual/

And for heaven's sake, please review! The last chapter of this series received 194 hits, and only got 10 reviews… (mock glare) Does anyone else see a problem here? Come on, people! Step out of lurkdom and give me **_something._** Shoot… I stayed up till 2:30 in the morning (I kid you not) wrapping up this chapter because I wanted to get it posted today. That deserves something, right? The more reviews I get, the more inspired my Muse becomes, which means the quicker the finale will be posted! And with the final episode, I'm going to need all the support I can get!!!

And for those of you that have reviewed… Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are all the best, and you keep me sane. Which is an accomplishment in and of itself! (wink)

(Sapphira)

~~~~~~~~~ 


	16. Ep 23 Never Cry Wolf

**Chapter Sixteen, Ep. 23 (Season Finale) – _"Never Cry Wolf"_**

****

Brief Author's Note – First off, I want to thank each and every one of you that reviewed my last episode… My confidence in my storyline was definitely restored, thanks to you! (hugs)

Also, a HUGE thank you for those of you that nominated Wolf Lake for the almost a dozen award categories that my series falls into… Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My series is now officially in the running for eleven awards… And it proves once and for all that the fan-base and desire for this story to continue is alive and howlin! Again, thank you so much…

To chase another rabbit, I have a "Complete Soundtrack Listing and Lyric Book" created for this season, and it will be posted as the following chapter… It will also be posted at my official site, once my series finishes re-airing at PVT, and eventually at my Yahoo! Group, in "Files" (you may have to become a member to get to it… and heaven knows I'd love for more members to join!) 

I hope you enjoy the finale… You have no idea what a monster it was to write… all 27,000 words of it… I must be as crazy as a loon… But I'll admit, it was fun. In a highly torturous sense. (grimacing)

But I hope you will ALL tell me what you think. As this will be your last chance to review on one of my episodes until later in the year, when the new Virtual Season Two will kick off its premiere…

A few days after this is posted and the larger portion of the reviews get a chance to come in, I will post a final Author's Note, that will include credits, acknowledgments, overall and personal thank-yous to my reviewers… including answers to some questions I have been unable to answer until now…As well as hints as to what the Virtual Second Season will be about, as well as some more solid information on some of my 

other projects that I will be working on until then. So if you have anything you want me to give you an answer or comment on in return, then now would be the time for you to mention it.

Everyone who has reviewed will be mentioned, so make sure you drop by to read what I have to say! *g* 

OK, Wolf Pack, this is it! The finale to my Virtual Season One Continuation… I hope when you have finished reading it, you will have enjoyed the ride! 

~~~~~~ 

Summary – An ancient evil will be fought as a century old war will come to its terrifying end, altering the very fabric of history. Mysteries will come to life, horrors will unfold, and myths will become reality, as the Skinwalkers pull together in a way they never imagined… 

~~~~~~ 

"I'm a scorpion. It is my **_nature_**."

Presley heard those words. Felt them sink their down deep into her aching heart. Leaving a tainted path of bruised flesh in their wake as her mind rebelled against what she was currently experiencing. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be real.

But despite the ache in her chest, she held her ground. Eyes hard and shuttered as she stood within the fold of her group. Memories of all the times she had scoffed at those of her species that had trusted humans. 

And even after all those years of doing that, she was a complete and utter fool to have become one of them.

How fitting.

Feeling a cold fire begin to spread through her veins, she stared back into Damien's mocking eyes. Swearing to herself that before this night was over, she would feel his throat between her jaws.

Sophia just braced herself. Looking at the others. Knowing that they were all trying to figure a way out of the mess they had found themselves in. She could see the cop in John rise to the occasion as his dark eyes shifted from side to side. Mentally calculating how many enemies were surrounding them.

Relaying information was an interesting experience, though. Because Tyler was present, it left only the private pathways available for use. What John said to Ruby, Ruby relayed to Sophia, who merged with Luke, who in turn, merged with his mother on a pathway he hadn't used in ten years. Creating a private network of communication, that, although taxing, did the trick. Even if it left Presley completely out of the loop.

'I count six to the left, five to the right, and seven behind. Damien, Tyler and this David character are the only ones in front. That and that damned floodlight. They are aware of the fact that our human eyes are more sensitive to bright light then their own.' 

Luke's voice was grim, even over the mental wave. 'And every last one of them is armed. I don't know about you, but these odds are not to my liking.'

'We can't remain here. We can't let them relocate them to wherever it is they're planning to take us.' Ruby commented. 'I don't think they mean to kill all of us just yet. See those nets?'

'Death is preferable to what they might have in store.' Vivian agreed. A feral edge to her smooth voice.

'We don't exactly have a bunch of options here, though.' That came from John. 'We're surrounded. They have us drugged and quite effectively snared.'

Sophia remained silent. Eyes watchful as David started to laugh. Drawing all of their attention and silence fell across the communication web.

David patted Damien's shoulder from where they both stood in front of the very large construction grade floodlight, the almost blinding glow at their backs. 

"A very fitting analogy, my son."

Damien held Presley's gaze. 

Damien's mocking smile deepened, as if amused by her expression, as if he dared her to continue to question his purposes. And Presley saw red.

"You have no idea just how fitting, father." Damien drawled out, turning towards David. Accent suddenly thicker than it had been earlier. 

And his smile fell away. 

In one smooth motion, Damien turned away, pirouetted, and put his foot forcefully through the lens of the floodlight. At the same time, he bent at the waist, slipping something free from his boot. The blade reflecting silver in the suddenly exploding light, as the Hunters closest dove out of the way instinctively. Tyler leaping a safe distance away as well. Completely satisfied to let this Father/Son moment play out on its own without any interference.

The shattering light-bulb seemed to grow fiercer as it burnt out. Surges rippling through the frying wires.

And as the bulb finally did explode outward, raining a never ending supply of bright orange and yellow sparks over the two figures standing in front of it and sending the acrid smell of smoke into the air, the small group of dumbfounded Skinwalkers who watched in disbelief as Damien's knife plunged upwards. Deftly slipping between David's ribs and burying its way into his chest cavity. The vengeful expression of his son's face visible only in the small spurts of lights and sparks, falling deeper and deeper into shadows, and the last thing to fill David's vision as he fell to his knees. Unable to suppress his small victorious smile, as the darkness swelled up to swallow him from within. Severing his blackened soul from his dying body and escorting him straight to hell where he belonged. A smile of admiration and fatherly pride on just how well his own flesh and blood had played him.

_That's my boy._****

******** **

When the floodlight died, first blinding all the Hunters, and then plunging the valley into complete and total darkness – the clouds overhead blocking out all light from the demonic moon and the surrounding stars – they didn't hesitate. Immediately linking back up to form the communication web again, the group dove away from the center of the valley, as a few of the Hunters began to reflexively spray their location. Bullets zinging past to bury into the subtle resistance of the earthen floor. Some ricocheting off of slabs of ground rocks. Whipping back up through the air. Desperately seeking purchase in unprotected skin, as they ducked out of the way. Cutting through the underbrush, going purely on their joined mental map of what their surroundings looked like, and unfettered instincts. 

'Everyone spilt! Go separate directions. We can't afford to have all of us caught!" Vivian's order was hard and rang with authority, her alpha inclinations rising to the surface once more.

None of them even thought about it as they fell apart. John and Ruby heading in one direction, Luke and Sophia another, and Vivian dragging a shell-shocked and very numb Presley in yet another. All focused on one thing. Surviving.

"What about Damien?" Presley hissed. Eyes haunted at she looked behind her. Hearing the rifles still firing off their rounds. 

She imagined those rounds emptying into him, and she shuddered at the visual that supplied.

She should have trusted him. Should have believed in him. He was quite possibly paying for their freedom with his life.

She had thought he was betraying her, when in actuality, he was trying to save them all.

And the last vision he had of her, was her looking back at him in hatred and disgust.

In that moment, she had never felt more self-loathing.

"We can't think about that right now." Vivian muttered. More than a little exasperated when Presley pulled to a stop stubbornly. Shaking her head violently, tangled mass of blond hair flying out, and eyes frantic as she tried to turn back towards the valley.

"No, I can't! I can't leave him back there with them!"

"Damn it, Presley! Do you want his sacrifice to be for nothing? He wanted you most of all to live. Are you going to throw that back in his face, after what he gave up for your freedom?"

Hearing those words echo deep in her mind almost as if Damien himself was speaking them, Presley looked over at the Pack's Alpha female, and nodded. Feeling something splinter apart from within her. Feeling almost like she was bleeding outward, but yet there was no physical wound.

Starting to run again, they picked up the pace as they made their way deeper into the forest. Its unfamiliar but nonetheless welcoming embrace enfolding the two women in its protection.

Presley kept up with the breakneck speed right along with Vivian, ducking out of the way of trees and their bare feet automatically finding the correct pathways, despite how dark it was, and despite the drugs in their systems. 

There were just some things that could never be taken away from them.

But she couldn't stop the tears of regret that blazed a path down the sides of her cheeks, pooling in the hollows of her neck, and cooling against the burning heat of her flushed skin.

****** 

They had been running for almost fifteen minutes, when Sophia and Luke came across a small creek nestled into the sharp careening upward side of a jagged, snow capped mountain.

Coming to a stop in order to catch their breaths, they quickly took a drink of water, and surveyed their options. Very little light piercing the almost complete blackness of their surroundings. 

"What now?" Sophia asked. Looking up at Luke. He shook his head. Eyes dark as he dragged deep breaths into his lungs.

"I don't know. Do you think the others got away safely?"

Sophia concentrated for a moment. Brushing upon the private mental path that her and Ruby shared, just long enough to gather the answer to that question.

"John and Ruby are fine." Sophia breathed out. "What about your mother and Presley?"

Luke pressed his lips together into a thin line. "My private mental pathway with my mom works only over a short range. We're too far apart, and that pathway is very rusty. I can't pick anything up."

"And we can't use the public mental pathway, because – "

"It would give away our position to Tyler." Luke finished. Voice rasping slightly from his exhaustion. "The son of a bitch."

Sophia's brow quirked in an attempt to lighten the mood of the situation. "Literally."

Luke didn't answer. Looking down at her, he quickly ducked his head down to press a kiss of possession against her lips. Thankful that they were still together. Still alive.

Sophia sighed into his mouth, and reached her arms up to wrap them around the back of his neck. Pulling him closer. It was the type of kiss that wasn't so much a passionate, arousing one, but of relief and gratification towards their escape.

The snapping of a twig nearby broke them apart sharply. They jerked to attention, muscles coiling defensively as they turned towards their intruder. Luke subtly placing his body in front of hers. 

Their eyes swept over him, taking in his tightly drawn expression and his bright, glittering black eyes. Mouth setting firmly as he straightened, looking back. Facing them off.

"Damien." Sophia whispered under her breath. Keeping a hand tightly on Luke's arm in restraint as she felt the muscles beneath his skin begin to bunch together. 

****** 

Eric coolly observed the body of his dead boss and leader of their Cause, as he flipped open his cell-phone. Pressing in a number to the glowing pad, he placed it at his ear, and waited for the party on the other end to pick up.

When they did, his order was brief and to the point. "David Van Halen is dead. Damien is compromised. I am in control of the Mission now. Bring the command codes online, and uplink into the Vega Satellite immediately. Contact me when it's ready."

Snapping the cell closed, he hooked it back to his belt. Still studying the body in front of him. A small smile turning up the corners of his thin mouth cruelly, as he turned away. Leaving Van Halen to rot. Glorying in the sensation of finally being in control, and setting up the final stage of this conflict that would wipe out the Skinwalkers permanently. Starting with the wayward group that had just escaped their clutches.

Turning to look disdainfully over at the traitorous member of that filthy species, he snarled out a warning.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Hunt them down."

Tyler inclined his head, a small taunting smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he watched Eric walk past.

Eyeing the fallen body of his previous employer with distaste, he turned to face the portion of the forest that John and Ruby had disappeared into. 

All humor fled as his eyes flared up. Muscles and bone popping and shifting as his body prepared for the Change. 

******

"I know I'm not exactly your favorite person right now." Damien began, his velvet-lined voice almost harsh in the cold night air. "But it is imperative that you trust me now if you want to make it out of this alive."

"You killed your father." Sophia pointed out simply.

Damien's lips twisted sardonically. "I do not consider that man to be anything more to me than a donor of genetic material. But yes, I did. In order to provide a distraction so all of you could escape."

"Was that planned?" Luke bit out. Still distrustful after having seen how efficient an actor Damien was.

Damien cocked his head to the side. Observing him through hooded eyes. "I guess you'll never know, will you?" he taunted softly.

Ignoring the aggression emitting from Luke, he turned his gaze back to Sophia.

She studied him for a moment, remembering the sight of him kicking in that floodlight and turning on David Van Halen. 

"How bad is it?" She suddenly asked. Remembering earlier in the evening when he had been so obviously struggling with internal demons. Her concern now was whether or not everything that happened back there had been a facade, or reality wrapped up in momentary surrender to the darkness inside him.

Damien swallowed reflexively. Not even bothering to pretend that he didn't know what she was referring to. Thinking of.

"I can handle it."

"Can you?" Sophia prodded. "Because for a few moments back there, I wasn't too sure you could."

Damien's lips twisted up into the semblance of a humorless smile. "If there is one thing you should never forget about me, Sophia, is that I **_never _**do **_anything_** unless it is **_exactly _**what I had planned to do all along. Regardless of how my internal demons may be faring, my will is stronger than the purpose of my birth. And I won't lose sight of my goal to be free from it once and for all. Especially now, when I can finally see it becoming a possibility."

"What do you mean?"

Damien took a few steps closer. Careful to keep an ear out for any pursuers.

"It will be best if we keep moving." he pointed out. "It won't be long before this entire area for a hundred-mile radius is swarming with Hunters."

'Are you just going to conveniently forget about what he just did back there in the valley?' Luke hissed over their private mental path as they began to walk beside the creek, heading upstream.

'Oh, you mean besides saving our lives? We wouldn't have made it out of there in one piece if it wasn't for what he did.'

'I don't trust him.' 

'I do.' Sophia replied. Putting an end to their mental argument. 

"The Hunters have far more resources at their disposal than you realize." Damien began, "By now, they'll be working on activating a certain program run by the satellite that we refer to as "Vega". One of its uses has been to track the microchip that was implanted into Presley's arm. And I can pretty much guarantee that the darts you were all shot with carry transmitters as well."

"Oh, wonderful." Luke lips curled up into a snarl. "How the hell are we supposed to escape with those things buried underneath our skin?"

"That isn't our primary concern at the moment. It won't take much for me to locate a device that will interfere with the signal, and break down the stability of the chip. What does have me worried though is that they will be bringing the second program on-line."

"Which is?" Sophia prompted.

 "Picking up and zooming in on the bio signs of any wolves in any portion of the world they so choose. Including around the Canadian border."

Sophia pulled to a stop. Pressing a trembling hand to her forehead as those words and their implications sunk in. 

 "**_Shit."_** Luke hissed out between his teeth. "How long before this function is operational?"

Damien sighed. "It depends on when the activation sequence began, but not long. Twenty minutes at the most. Reason why this has to go through any time lapse at all, is because it's still a fairly new and untried program. Still at the drawing boards when we began to infiltrate the surrounding area of Wolf Lake."

Sophia let out a groan. "How the hell were they able to come up with a **_satellite_** specially programmed to lock onto a wolf's body heat?"

"Sophia…" Damien cautioned. "You have no idea just how much wealth and power my brethren have at their disposal. This isn't some group of backyard thugs. It's organized fantantisim at its strongest. Don't ever forget that. Besides, the technology of this day and age is already there. To science, this isn't anything new or cutting edge." He took a breath before continuing. "I also believe that there will be a team presently infiltrating Wolf Lake, to see if we left anything or any**_one _**behind, before moving on to other locations."

"How do we stop it?" Luke broke in. Interrupting whatever it was that Sophia was going to say in response to Damien's words. Whatever else might be happening with the rest of the Pack mattered little at this moment, because worrying about friends or family wasn't going to accomplish anything. They had to stay focused on the here and now, if they were going to come up with anything that could be used to save their species. 

"We can't stop the satellite…" Damien hesitated slightly. "But we might be able to stop the Hunters."

Sophia felt as if everything had gone to slow-motion, as her mind literally reacted to the insinuation to Damien's voice.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Gaze searching his. Almost too afraid to hope. She knew that whatever he was about to say was going to change everything from here on out. And it just might hopefully give them the edge they needed right now to make it out of this alive.

"There is one way that I read about, a long time ago, in a confiscated text from one of the manuals that had been stolen back during the last battle of the Dark Age. Stolen from one of your Packs from back then. I don't know how much of it is based in fact, but I think it might be worth looking into now."

"The lost documents." Sophia whispered, remembering back on what Sherman had told her about them. "All this time that we thought they were lost, and the Hunters had them."

"Well," Damien conceded. "More accurately the Leaders of the Cause. They didn't want anyone else in the Group to read them, in case it would spark sympathy for the Skinwalkers."

"What way?" Luke persisted. Refusing to get off track. "What did you read?"

Damien's expression darkened slightly as he quickly pulled the black almost metallic colored disk out from underneath his shirt. Catching up the leather rope holding it around his neck between his leather encased fingers. 

The stone glittered mutely in the shadows. Gathering and reflecting what little amount of light there was.

Catching sight of it, Sophia stumbled, as words spoken to her from the dream hit her hard. Taking the breath from her lungs, and reverberating in both her mind and Luke's when he touched her mind instinctively to discover what was wrong. Wrapping an arm around her to keep her dizziness from sending her to the ground.

_"Remember this, Sophia. There is a link running through the fabric of all the Hunters. A common thread tying each and every one of them together. Bound by blood and tradition. Sever that thread, and you destroy the Hunters."_

Still leaning her body heavily into Luke's, Sophia looked up into his eyes in shock, she turned her gaze back to the disc shaped stone hanging from around Damien's neck. The symbol of what they stood for. The alien mineral that was like a cloak of invisibility over the one who wore it, towards the wolven senses. The primary weapon of the Hunters, and what was responsible for the countless slaughters of her people a few hundred years ago… the reason why the Skinwalkers didn't understand why they couldn't sense the evil enemies until they were right on top of them.

And a link that ran through their ranks like a river through the desert. Like blood through the veins. Something that tied them all together in a common, united thread.

"Why do you now think that it's worth pursuing this ancient belief? What changed your mind?" Luke asked quietly. Sophia felt the vibrations of his words running through his upper chest as she pressed the side of her face against the warm expanse of bare skin. Listening to the fast-pace of his heart. That had been the first time he had even gotten so much as in inkling to what the dreams had been like for her. She could feel his apologetic thoughts for ever doubting her running over into their mind link, and she smiled weakly.

Damien suddenly pointed at Sophia. He smile turned to a frown as she pulled her head away. Suddenly feeling a little paranoid as to why his finger was aimed at her.

It wasn't. At least, not her specifically. He was pointing at her strange crystal pendant.

"That." He emphasized. "There was a drawing of that crystal in the text. I don't know how or why, but somewhere, that crystal will have something to do with the turning of the tide to our favor."

Sophia's fingers cam up to brush over her pendant, as her gaze remained locked on Damien's. A hated vessel for the Hunters' past, and what they stood for. So innocent in it inconspicuous size, shape and design. No one would believe that it contained so much power.

The power of destruction. In more ways then one.

Sophia let out a breath as the first tickling of hope coursed through her body. Lifting her spirits, and helping her regain her desire to begin to fight back for what was truthfully their right to live. To exist. To be free.

She knew she didn't have all the answers just yet, but she had just taken the first big step in understanding it all. Nothing happened without a reason, and everything had come about this way for one, and one reason only.

"That's it." She shook her head in disbelief, letting out a breathless laugh as all the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. "That is how the Hunters will be destroyed. By their own tokens from hell."

****** 

It was nearing two in the morning in the small town of Wolf Lake, and not a single human made sound could be heard anywhere. Without the rowdy presence of the Pack's youth spicing things up, the streets and sidewalks were empty. Shops and restaurants were shut down. The lights in houses were turned off. A couple of dogs could be heard barking a few miles away, but other than that, all the humans were safely tucked in their beds. Almost as if they sensed that the dangers of the unbelievable that had lurked outside their homes for years had been chased away by an even greater nightmare, and one that no one wanted to acknowledge existed.

So long as they stayed inside their walls, and safely under their covers asleep, they could believe that everything was right in their world.

It wasn't.

Picking up speed as he made his way through town, he looked up at the night sky as the clouds blew in ominously. Shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, he crossed over from the pavement to a sidewalk shadowed by a line of trees. Mentally checking off each block as he made his way to the couple's house. Keeping his eyes open for any signs of life. Human, Hunter, or otherwise.

And although he never saw any of the three, he had a gut feeling he was being watched covertly.

And when he had a gut feeling, it wasn't from indigestion.  

Seeing the house up ahead, he looped around. Coming up on the building from behind. Dark eyes scanning the area, trying to locate the source of his unease.

Unable to do that, he stepped up to the back door, and the knob turned easily under his palm.

Giving one final look around, he stepped inside, and gently closed the door behind him.

******

Five minutes later he exited the house with a young boy of about eight years of age grasped tightly in his arms. The child had his head leaning into Sherman's shoulder trustingly, skinny little arms and legs wrapped around in a death grip, as Sherman walked quickly back the way he had come, seemingly unencumbered by the weight of the frightened pup.

He had found him curled up in a corner of the living room. Damp tracks from tears still visible on his cheeks as he had tried to put on a brave face. Believing that his family wouldn't leave him behind, despite his fear of being abandoned in Wolf Lake.

Sherman had always had a good rep with the children of the Clan. They trusted him instinctively, just as their parents did. That had been the relationship between Keepers and their Packs for thousands of years, and a fact that stood him in good stead tonight.

A human child would have been screaming body murder right about now, with a virtual stranger carrying him away from his home, in the middle of the night, and no presence from their parents to be found. But a member of the Pack's young knew instinctively that he must be completely still and quiet, and that this strange but familiar man would die first before letting any harm befall him.

Soon, both Sherman and his young charge were out of the town, but, despite the relief from the boy at the sight of the nearing forest tree-line, and the relaxation of his tight grip, Sherman already knew what was about to happen, long before it did. He had known all along that he was being followed, and it that it wouldn't be long before his stalkers made their presence known.

Pulling to a stop, remaining completely unruffled as he heard the fast approach of steps coming up from behind him and to his side. He leaned his lips over to the young boy's ear and murmured a brief but firm command. A command that sent the young one into an un-compromised deep sleep. One that he could only be awakened from by Sherman himself.

He thought it best to save the boy from having to experience the next few moments.

Wrapping one arm tightly around the boy's limp waist and shifting him over to his right hip, leaving his other arm free, Sherman turned to face the two Hunters coming up from behind him. Dressed in their traditional garb of black clothes, swathed in shadow and both carrying automatics. The expression on his face was vaguely curious, as he looked over at the third Hunter running up from the side to join his companions. Also carrying a weapon.

"Are you gentlemen lost?" Sherman asked innocently. Looking back and forth between the three.

"Put the boy down and step away, old man!" one of them barked harshly. 

"His ancient hide isn't even worth the trouble." another one growled-. "But the young one might interest Van Halen. He's been wanting to get his hands on one of the children for some time now."

Sherman's arm tightened instinctively on the boy, even while his expression remained neutral. "I'm sorry, but you must have mistaken me for someone else. I don't see how I can be of any interest to you, or deserving of this treatment."

His answer to that comment was a barrel shoved in his face. Sherman frowned slightly. Not even blinking as he looked at the weapon distastefully.

"Oh, something tells me we haven't made any mistakes, old one. If you were human, you'd be begging for mercy right about now."

Sherman shrugged. "It's such a humiliating process, I'd rather not, if it is all the same."

They were losing patience, and the weapon pointed at Sherman's face vibrated with the rage at the other end. "Drop him, now!!"

Sherman shook his head. "No, I'm sorry. I can't do that. You see, his family has been waiting for him long enough."

The Hunter's finger began to tighten on the trigger. "Fine, then you'll both drop together."

Sherman just stared back, completely calm. Unflinching in the sight of his aggressor's anger, as he called upon an ancient gift, that rose up warmly from within him like an old friend. Coming to his aid once more.

Passing completely unnoticed by the three enemies surrounding him, Sherman's free left hand, hanging down and loose at his side, began to glow steadily.

****** 

On the other side of the town, a lone dark gray wolf sliced through the heavy shadows and blackness of the night. Skimming past house by house, senses stretched to the breaking point as he searched for any stragglers left in the town. Uncovering none.

His time here was almost up, and he was pleased to acknowledge that he had not come upon any remaining members of his Pack. 

Swiftly running back the way he had come, he quickly crossed to an overhanging edge, which led back towards the upper ranges, and beyond that, the valley. 

He turned one last time to look at the sleeping town. A town that was going to be noticeably smaller in the morning.  

Looking up at the clouds as they started to come in to shadow the night sky, he lifted his dark muzzle to the crimson moon and let out a brief, mournful song, reaching up towards the heavens, and echoing around the mountains. His final goodbye to his home, and the life they had known for the last few hundred years.

His cry was cut off as he suddenly heard a couple of gunshots going off. Uncertain, he listened for a few more minutes, and not hearing anything else except complete silence, he turned back to the forest. Sliding between the tall trees as he made his way deeper into the shadows. 

Whatever it had been, it wasn't his business anymore, despite his desire to check into it. He wasn't the Sheriff anymore. He had a greater calling; a mate and a future waiting for him. He couldn't concern himself anymore with human problems and human crimes. No matter how much it might have eaten him up to ignore it. 

No member of the Pack had been left behind, and his work here was done.

It was time to find his family.

~

(A/N – If you want to see the image that inspired that scene, go to , and scroll down.)

****** 

Hand still crackling subtly with withdrawn force, Sherman calmly stepped past the three fallen Hunters staring up at the night sky with open and unfixed, dead eyes. Faces frozen in expressions of shock and fear, and the bullets that had been reflected back on them, had entry wounds that leaked blood outward into still steadily growing black puddles.

Shifting the child to his other hip, Sherman walked into the forest. Heading along the path that would take him back to the valley. The young boy still sound asleep, and completely unaware of anything that had happened.

Once Sherman was sure they were out of sight from the bodies, he whispered the gentle command that pulled him out of the almost drugged deep sleep into a lighter, more natural one. Content to let the exhausted pup continue to just dream carelessly away on his Keeper's shoulder.

Any moment he could spare the boy from experiencing from this night of horrors, was the greatest gift Sherman could give him.

****** 

Cutting through the dark foliage, the lone gray wolf steadily made his way back to his original destination. Aware of the passing of the time, and doing his best to keep the pace strong.

His heart lightened as he recognized a rock formation up ahead that marked just how close he was to the valley, and to the slight scent trails that would lead him to his family's side. Suddenly energetic, he bounded towards the formation.

They were upon him before he even knew it. A black, thick net swooping down on top of him so quickly, he didn't even have a chance to so much as flinch as it swallowed him up. Wrapping around his face and legs, tangling itself around his body as he fought to get out from underneath it. Growling and snarling as he snapped at the thick filaments that took him to the ground in a helpless heap.

Through his wolven infrared sight, he picked up the four Hunters converging on his position. 

One immediately pointed his automatic at the captured wolf, and prepared to fire. One of his comrades stopped him.

"No, back off. If this is the Alpha, then Eric will want to interrogate him before we kill him."

The one pointing the weapon at Matt, slowly turned the barrel away. Beckoning at the other two to pick the heavy male wolf up, still securely captured in the net.

Matt fought and writhed. Struggling to get free and gain purchase in his captors' flesh to no avail. With every movement he made, the net only became tighter. Squeezing his lean, furry body into odd contortions.

Panting with exhaustion, eyes wide, he stopped struggling, and fell limp. Conserving whatever strength he had left for a better time and better place, as the four Hunters carried him down a different path, through the thickness of the black forest, to whatever destination awaited him.

****** 

By the time Sherman made it back to the valley, the best he could tell was that it was around three in the morning. Just a few hours away from the coming dawn.

A dawn he still wasn't too sure they would all live to see. The conflict he had just experienced with those three Hunters back in town had bothered him on so many different levels. And none he wanted to admit to presently.

When he stepped out of the shadows of the tree-line – the boy in his arms just beginning to stir – They were greeted by his parents, who had separated themselves away from their group upon hearing his return.

Scooping up their son and relieving Sherman from having to carry him any further, they could barely suppress their relief over their family being reunited. Sherman flexed his strained muscles, wincing, and beckoned them back over to the group.

"There's no time for reunions. You need to get moving. You all have a long road ahead."

They nodded mutely. Whispering their thanks, as they carried their son back to where their group waited. 

Sherman smiled faintly in response when the boy waved to him gently in goodbye over his father's broad and heavily tanned shoulder.

Seeing them begin to exit the valley on their own individual route, Sherman turned back to sit down on a rock outcropping to wait for Matt. Knowing that he would come back through the valley in one final check, before moving on. Sherman couldn't help but smirk at the idea of what Matt's response to his presence was going to be.

Over the centuries, the Keepers of the Packs had all delighted in tormenting their Alphas in one way or another. But none had ever enjoyed it as much as Sherman. He had even turned it into an art-form over the years, and it was a favorite pastime that he had no intention of giving up anytime soon. 

Besides, the last thing those males (and on the rare occasion, females) needed was yet another who feared them. Their Keepers were a sure-fire way to keep their heads on straight. 

Sherman's backside had no sooner made contact with his improvised seat of rock, when he heard a feminine cry let loose from the shadows of the forest where the group had just disappeared into. It was a cry of surprise and shock. And a whole lot of fear. A cry that had been cut off almost as quickly as it had been issued.

He didn't even bother guessing as to the cause. On this night, it could only be one thing.

Sherman swallowed the hard lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, and quickly stood. Eyes darting around nervously.

Making his own way over to the path that the last group of Skinwalkers had exited from the valley by wasn't easy. He stuck to the tree-line and did his best not to make a sound. Constantly searching for any signs of the Hunters around him that would be searching out any stragglers from the Pack.

But he didn't see anyone. He figured that **_that_** party was up ahead. Focused on their latest capture.

Sherman didn't dwell on how they had discovered the valley, and the small group leaving. Something told him that he didn't want to know. Not if he had any hope of focusing on the problem at hand.

Picking up speed as he entered the forest once more, following the path he knew would lead to the captured group of Skinwalkers, his primary focus was finding out what was about to happen to them, and then figuring out a way to put a **_stop_** to it.

****** 

Ruby had known in her heart that there was no way their escape was going to go as smoothly as it had so far. But, if she had realized just how prophetic that feeling was going to be, maybe she would have figured out a different plan of escape.

But destiny had an interesting way of playing out regardless of what you did to try and escape it.

They had stopped in a tiny clearing to catch their breath and regroup. Both exhausted, they wanted nothing more than to stop running permanently. 

But they couldn't ignore the fact that the Hunters would be searching for them. Chasing them. They had to keep moving.

Do you think the others got away safely?" John puffed out slightly. Leaning over slightly to brace his palms against his thighs as he took advantage of the brief respite.

Ruby shook her head wearily. "Sophia and Luke are okay, I think. But I don't know about Vivian or Presley. I have no options available on communicating with them."

John nodded his head grimly. Not replying. He tilted his head up to watch the fast movement of the clouds moving through the night sky. Still obliterating any helpful light source.

Letting out a breath, he slowly pulled himself upright once more, turning in a semi-circle. Trying to figure out where they needed to go next. 

He picked a deer trail he saw leading off a little ways to their right. Ruby nodded a silent agreement, to his questioning gaze, and they started off once more. Bare feet stepping over the layer of leaves and twigs and rocks. 

But before they even made it to the path, something suddenly blocked it. Less than fifteen feet away.

Drawing quickly to a stop, John instinctively brought his left arm up to pull Ruby into the moderate safeness of his bare side. Fingers clenching on her hip protectively. He felt Ruby take in sudden breath, feeling it leave her almost as quickly as it entered, even though he didn't take his eyes off the male standing in front of him.

Tyler just stared back. Gaze intense and dark, as his eyes glittered subtly. Skin bare in the night air, and still very fresh from the Change. 

Bruises along his neck and reaching up towards his ear were still apparent. Still healing from the last time all three of them had been alone together.

"Did you honestly think that I wouldn't be able to track you two down? That you could escape me?" He didn't look at Ruby, but John and her both could tell that that last question had been pointed at her.

She swallowed reflexively, and tilted her chin up. Bracing herself for whatever would come next. Both her and John were defenseless. Neither one of them had the primary bulk of their wolven senses and strengths. But they weren't going down without a fight. 

But when Tyler was joined by two Hunters, John and Ruby's options suddenly narrowed. 

As if sensing their thoughts, Tyler suddenly smiled. A small twisting of the lips, but a smile nonetheless. 

"What? No warm welcome?"

"What did you expect? Flowers?" Ruby shot back. Silver eyes glittering in the darkness.

Tyler laughed. "At the very least."

"Sorry to disappoint." John muttered. Muscles tightening as he continued to shield Ruby's smaller body with his own. Refusing to think about how badly they were out-numbered and out-gunned at the moment.

Tyler quirked his brow and looked over at his two companions. "No, I would hardly call this a disappointment." he turned his gaze back to the couple, and then locked onto Ruby for the first time. All amusement fleeing. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time. It's about time that justice was delivered accordingly in this Pack, and I find it quite exhilarating to be the one to bring about the first well-deserved round of executions."

Ruby felt as if someone had punched her deep in the gut. No matter the situation she had found herself in with Tyler, she never would have believed it of him to kill her. To turn on the Pack so viciously as he had.

But the proof of just how much he had was staring her right in the face. She couldn't ignore its presence anymore.

Ruby hid her betrayal well, and tilted her head to the side, studying him coolly.  "You never did see me as anything more than a means to an end, did you? Just another sure thing for your position within the Pack. A Pack that you are now going to assist in destroying."

Tyler shrugged. Eyes hardening subtly, as he mocked her. "Oh, that's where you're wrong, Ruby. Everything I did, I did for you. **_Including _**this. Never forget that."

He then looked over at the Hunters flanking him. Taking in the weapons held in their hands. Ready to fire.

He smiled faintly, as if he knew a secret no one else did. John arms tightened securely around Ruby, as Tyler turned that strange gaze back to them. Eyes glittering oddly. The smirk still present.

It was the symbol of a man who knew he had finally won. And his eyes… his eyes were soulless.

At first, Tyler's last two words didn't compute with Ruby. But when the Hunters swung their automatics up and located them down the point of the barrel, they finally sunk in. Ringing painfully through her mind, as she turned to John. Instinctively wanting him to be the last thing she saw, and nothing else.

Her hand came up to cover her womb protectively. Sending a silent apology to the fragile lives within her, heart breaking to think that they had never even been given a chance in this world. Her ears echoed painfully with Tyler's order, as her world suddenly narrowed down to the sound of the three heart-beats pulsing within her, and the faint echo of the one within the man beside her that was linked so closely to her own. 

"Kill them."

Ruby's lashes fluttered shut, as the world around her literally exploded.

****** 

The last few moments had not been very pleasant for Matt.

Injected with one of the drugs developed to harm his species, his body had been forced back into its human form against his will. It had been a painful experience, and the loss of a portion of his abilities and strengths had been very uncomfortable. But nothing like what he was going through now.

Now, he felt like he was in hell. Not that he would ever show it.

He had been restrained and chained up against a tree, in the middle of an unfamiliar portion of the forest. The bark bit painfully into his bare back, and the muscles in his arms cramped from being fixed so tightly at such an awkward angle around the back of the trunk.

Bruises and cuts were already starting to appear, as one of the Hunters named Eric continued with his interrogation.

"Where is your species heading?"

He had only asked that question a dozen times now. He was foolish to think that it would be met with anything other than stony-edged silence from Matthew's end. 

A fist struck its way across the already swelling cheekbone and flesh of the right side of his face. Causing Matt to accidentally bite down of the tip of his tongue. Filling his mouth with the metallic flavor of blood, which he spat out at Eric's feet pointedly.

"**_What is their destination?!_**" Eric yelled once more. Furious at Matt's silence, and becoming even further incensed when Matt began to laugh almost chokingly.

"I'll never tell you a damn thing." he sputtered out. Wincing when Eric drove another fist into his solar plexus. 

"Oh, come on." Matt mocked, around his gasps for air. Purposely taunting his captor. Getting a strange sense of enjoyment out of knowing he could push his torturer's buttons so easily. "Is that the best you can do?"

Eric pulled away. Reevaluating him thoughtfully. Eyes darkening with twisted sarcasm. "No. It isn't actually. Tell me, I wonder how you would feel, watching me do this to that precious daughter of yours. Do you think her body could withstand this type of abuse?" he started to chuckle. "Or maybe I should just toss her to some of my men. How would you like to see her scream and cry and beg for mercy at their hands? That can be quite convincing at times, you know. They've had a lifetime of practice."

A muscle jumped in the side of Matt's cheek as he looked up through eyes filling with suppressed rage. But his voice didn't waver as he calmly issued his statement.

"Before this night is up, you **_will_** die. I'll make sure of that."

Eric nodded, almost as if he was taking into consideration the sincerity of Matt's words. Right before he snapped up and out with a sharp kick to the side of his head. Boot heel connecting with the side of Matt's jaw, and causing the back of his head to smack painfully into the hard surface of the tree behind him. Ringing from the pain as he fought to stay conscious. Weight sagging limply at his bonds.

Eric tilted his head to the side. Lips curving mockingly as he studied Matt struggling against the agony radiating through his throbbing skull. 

"I don't think you are in any position to be making those kinds of promises. Do you?"

****** 

From Ruby's perspective, several things happened almost immediately.

One, was the sensation of John knocking her down and away from the threat. Quickly following her to the ground. The length of his body dropping over hers like a shield. Protecting her if need be in what might have possibly been their last moments of life.

Second, was the sound of gunshots swinging wide. Bullets missing them by mere inches to imbed their way into the dirt surrounding their heads. Sending small vibrations through the earthen floor, that could be easily felt through the sensitivity of Ruby's pale, bare skin.

And third, was the sight of Tyler viciously turning on the two unsuspecting Hunters.

She watched in stunned response as he literally morphed from one type of person…  

Cold, aloof, traitorous… like the man that had taken her from Seattle, and had proceeded to use and abuse her for his own benefits… 

To another…. The man that, once upon a time, she had thought she would love forever. **_Before_** she had met John and had discovered what it really meant to be the other portion of one's soul.

His arm suddenly snapped up from where it had been hanging loosely at his side. His fingers wrapping around the back of the neck that belonged to the Hunter on his left. She heard the crunching sound it made as Tyler snapped it with the pressure applied under just one palm. The tendons in his forearm and tattooed bicep standing out in sharp relief under his skin as his Skinwalker strength rose greedily to the surface.

But even then, he didn't miss a beat. The body of the first having not even hit the ground, before the force from his lashed-out kick made contact with the second Hunter. Hitting him right behind the legs, and knocking him painfully to his knees.

Ruby turned away for a brief second. Hearing what could have only been the spinal cord being ripped out, and the second body flopping lifeless into the dirt.

Looking back, she found that Tyler had locked his eyes knowingly onto hers. Having suffered no exertion whatsoever from his planned and well-executed attacks.

_…It's about time that justice was delivered accordingly in this Pack, and I find it quite exhilarating to be the one to bring about the first well-deserved round of executions…_

John slowly pushed his way up to a sitting position, taking his protective weight off of Ruby – his shock and disbelief evident – while Ruby braced herself up on her palms. Heart rate starting to slow down, as she carefully read Tyler's expression.

Tyler didn't even spare John a second glance. The slight snarl to his lips was evident when he glanced at him initially, but then he only allowed his focus to remain on Ruby. Eyes wandering informally over her body, resting briefly on her abdomen, and causing Ruby to question her belief on whether or not he could sense the presence of her twins growing there. Sired not by him, but by the one he had despised above all others. 

Gaze pulling back upwards almost clinically, he met her glittering silver eyes in one final moment. Darkness gathering behind that heavily veiled expression. 

No words were spoken out loud, as he slowly began to turn away. But the memory of what he had said earlier, echoed between them silently. Words she had thought spoken in some sort of twisted jest – how could trying to kill her and her chosen mate be for her own benefit? – but in actuality, had been his way of saying goodbye.

_…Everything I did, I did for you. **Including **this…_

Ruby watched him turn his back to her without a sound and walk back into the heavy shadows of the forest. It's blackness drawing him within its heart once more. Swallowing him, pulling him from view. 

_…Never forget that…_

She watched him go passively. Leaning sub-consciously into John for support, as his palm came to rest on her stomach. The heat of it warming her flesh comfortingly. 

As suddenly as Tyler had appeared, he was gone. And the night-time sounds of the forest began their chorus once more. Oblivious to the lovers clinging tightly to one another, still nestled into the carpeting of the crushed leaves and rich earth.

****** 

"Your silence isn't going to change anything that will happen here tonight, you know." Eric commented almost conversationally. Cleaning off the blade of a knife with a white hand cloth. The stain of Matt's blood leaving a wet, vivid, crimson smear across the fabric.

"It's ending, Donner. Your species. This war. Our cause. After hundreds of years, it's finally come down to these final hours. We already have our technology running at its full capacity. Within hours, we will have located every one of your pathetic members, via satellite. The dawn of a new age without the presence of your kind is upon us."

"Then why do you need me?" Matt bit out sarcastically. Refusing to believe Eric's words. Blood dripped steadily down his chest and arms from the shallow as well as the deep cuts inflicted upon his unprotected flesh. The salt from his sweat – despite the night's chill – trickled into the wounds and caused him to flinch occasionally against his bonds.

Eric shrugged. "I'm nothing if not thorough. If one of your members happened by chance to avoid our satellite, I would like to know where they were planning on heading. It will eliminate the whole encumbrance of having to conduct a search of the entire continent, and those can be **_so_** tedious."

Matt shook his head is disbelief at the man's audacity. Refusing to answer. There was no way in hell he was going to give in to Eric's sadistic inquisition. It was going to take a hell of a lot more than what he had at his dispersal to get him to speak. 

Leaning his bruised head back against the tree trunk, Matt braced himself for whatever would come next…

And waited.

It didn't take long, before Eric opened up his mouth again, and let the other shoe drop.

"We've already located your daughter and her group once." he mentioned, almost like an afterthought. Stepping closer in the hopes of seeing some sort of reaction. 

Matt's lids cracked open a bit, but he didn't reply. 

"Granted, they managed to escape with some rather pesky interference of one of our own, who was **_supposed_** to betray **_you…_** not us. But nonetheless, my men are already zooming back in on them with a little help from the satellite. It won't be long before they are **_all_** dead. Including Damien, and your pretty little daughter. I wouldn't worry about it too much, though, if I were you. I'm sure it'll be quick. Not like what I would have done to the white Bitch."

Eric pulled closer. His eyes gleaming, and a smile of enjoyment tugging at the corners of his thin lips as he continued. Voice dropping an octave. Almost as if he was sharing a secret of vast importance.

"You, on the other hand, will suffer a **_long _**time before leaving this existence. Taking with you to hell the very sensation of each and every one of your species slowly being killed, one by one, and separating permanently from your collective mental pathway… Till there is nothing left but the dark echoes of their pain and fear and betrayal being swallowed up in the final moments of their deaths. Until there is nothing left in the black empty recesses of your mind. And with that, the knowledge that **_you_** were the last to go, the last one left of your kind, and that **_you_** were unable to do anything to stop it, to save what was left of your unholy kind…  It will haunt you till the end of eternity."

Eric watched Matt's unemotional mask for a few minutes almost hungrily, before letting out a hiss of frustration. Having never experiencing this much trouble – or this much resistance – in breaking a prisoner before. 

He turned away for a moment and placed his knife back down beside the others in his collection. Contemplating which one to use next. 

Never knowing how much his comment had cut right through Matt's soul to slice into his heart more efficiently than any of Eric's favorite toys ever could. 

******  

When Sherman finally located the small group of Skinwalkers, captured and penned in by about twenty Hunters, all armed to the teeth, preparing to begin the first round of mass executions, Sherman's options suddenly narrowed. He had less than a minute to make a decision, and save his prayers for later that he had done the right thing.

Quickly looking over the group of about fifteen Skinwalkers, his gaze locked on to the small group of five or six children that had been pressed into the protective inner circle of their parents and their fellow Pack mates. The adult bodies hiding and protecting them from view of the Hunters.

Sherman hid his body quietly behind a tree. Kneeling down, almost level with the ground, as he called forth the ancient force that flowed through his body. Energy crackling once more around his fingertips.

He couldn't afford to think about the loss of life that was about to happen. His ability wasn't strong enough protect the entire group, but he could at least do this much.

One of the females caught his slight movements out of the corner of her eye, and she covertly turned her panicked gaze towards him beseechingly.

Sherman recognized her as the mother of the boy he had just brought back from Wolf Lake. She studied him for a brief moment, no more than a few seconds, but a span of time that Sherman would remember for the rest of his existence in perfect detail.

Her eyes dropped to see the blatant bluish white energy flowing down his arms and pooling around his hands. Energy he had never revealed to any in the Pack. Energy that none could ever see, unless their memory of the event was removed.

Or they themselves were killed.

Sherman could tell how the woman drew upon the vague remembrance of her early childhood to understand what she was seeing. The myths and stories told to little children at bedtime about how the Pack's Keeper would always guard and protect them. Them, the assured future generation of the Skinwalker species. The hushed speculations of the Keeper's powers. And her sudden acknowledgment of just how potently **_real_** that mysterious ability was now that she was witnessing it for the first and last time.

Meeting Sherman's gaze with her crystalline one, she smiled faintly. Acceptingly. A simple unspoken plea echoing between them. And with it, her acceptance of her and the rest of her adult group's fast approaching deaths at the hands of their enemies. Her hand instinctively searching out her mate's, even thought her eyes didn't leave Sherman. 

**_Save them… _**

****

Sherman inclined his head slightly. The movement binding him to his silent promise to her.

He watched as the mother turned to look at her frightened son almost in slow motion, revealing the pale curve her slender neck. Whispering something soothingly to him that couldn't be heard outside of that ring of Skinwalkers. But lips caressing a familiar phrase that all knew by heart and sight alone.

Sherman closed his eyes against the heart-breaking scene resolutely, as the force of the power within him began to build. Increasing to its full, maximum capacity. Until finally, like a brilliant tidal wave of pure, white blue energy, exploding outward in torrent of lightening like tendrils. Streaking across the forest floor with a strength that was blinding in its dangerous beauty. Forming a pulsing shield and wrapping its way protectively around the half-dozen screaming children in a impenetrable bubble-like cloak. Crackling and buzzing with bright intensity that mercifully blocked the children's sight and sound of the world beyond that bubble, as everything violently exploded in a continuous outpouring of bullets emptying from the Hunter's automatics. The echoes of the sound heard for miles around in the dark, pristine forest that had just been turned into a living hell.

****** 

It hit Sophia with a force that literally knocked the breath out of her body. Her legs literally gave out from under her, as the public mental pathway reverberated with the sensations of death and pain and carnage. Ripping through the slender filaments that tied the Pack together with an insidiously evil malice. 

Landing weakly on her knees, fingers buried themselves into the rich, black dirt to balance herself. A small cry of agony ripping its way free from Sophia's tightening throat.

"It's happening," she breathed out with frightening intensity, as she felt Luke kneel down beside her. His expression drawn and pale, having felt the same disturbance she had. "It's begun. Just like she said it would."

"Who?" Luke asked hoarsely. 

Sophia shook her head. Not answering. Her mind became flooded with memories from the dreams sent by the living heart of the white wolf. Memories of the death and mayhem reflecting upon both time lines. She began to shudder.

She remembered the words spoken to her by the entity that had worn Rianna's face. Desperately trying to show her the way to a revelation that Sophia **_had_** to discover on her own.

She had spent the last hour trying to figure out what that revelation was, but so far, had had no success. She thought she would have had more time…

But now…Now, time had run out. For her, for the Pack, and for her to discover what needed to be done to save their species.

With this certainty, rose the fear. And with the fear, rose the panic. An all-consuming emotion, that caused her mind to dance franticly blank.

But a distant but powerfully firm memory broke through that instant reaction. Replaying itself pointedly.

_…don't be afraid. This is what you were born for…_

Fingers clenching even tighter in the dirt, Sophia felt the panic within her start to slowly ease away, as she forced herself to begin to replay things that had been happening ever since her Flip. A mosaic of random memories and thoughts. She felt the way she suddenly distanced herself. Aware on some level that Luke was trying to talk to her. His hand resting on her arm. Damien's concerned questioning as he sought to understand what was happening.

It all faded away to nothing. A distant part of her life that meant nothing. **_Was_** nothing.

Centering herself, she let that mosaic play out, seeing in her mind's eye the visuals connected to them. Knowing that somewhere in all these twisted bits and cryptic pieces lay the answer to her questions. Her searching… and the Pack's future.

_…There is a link running through the fabric of all the Hunters. A common thread tying each and every one of them together. Bound by blood and tradition. Sever that thread, and you destroy the Hunters…_

**In the age of the Blood Moon…**

_…You will have to face them. Fight them. Your people escaped your destiny once before, when you could no longer handle it… you will not be able to do so again…_

**When its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors…**__

_…You will fight them. And you will lose…_

**And the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor…**

_…It is **you **that brings your line of ancestry to the forefront of this challenge. You are the descendent of Rianna and her mate. And it is **you **that wears the crystallized flame around your neck. Make no mistake, you were chosen for a reason, Sophia…_

**The form of the white wolf will appear once again…**

_…You know what is happening…_

_…I am the past. I am a part of you…_

_…Just realize that the gem you wear around your neck is not just an ornament. It is a symbol of the white wolf, and has been worn by the white female down through the ages of your species. Rianna was not the first, and you will not be the last. And as such, it is more precious than you could possibly imagine, and in more ways than one…_

_…Some of the past Keepers thought it might have been forged out of a volcano. Others thought it might have come from a meteor, while others thought it was created by supernatural forces. That knowledge was lost a long time ago. And maybe it's better that way. The important thing is that you realize just how precious that rock is, Sophia. Don't ever take it off. For any reason…_

_Is it magical?_

_It's only as magical as you want it to be…_

_…Your gifts are only just starting to come to life within you. Nonetheless, they will show you the way..._

_…You will learn, Sophia. As those before you had to learn…_

But to battle the oncoming Darkness… 

_ You can't choose what destiny you will be given. You can only fulfill it. This is something that your mother understood..._

**its soul will reside…**

Abilities you never could have dreamed of will rise to the surface to aid you, and powers that your Clan have believed dead ever since the migration to the New World, will also become known. The Hunters are not the only dangers that you are faced with, they are not the only "Darkness" shadowing your people…A mystery of the Pack's past will be revealed and answered, and all of this will happen through you, Sophia… So do not forget…

**not in the shell of One…**

_…Remember, these are the gifts that **I **gave you, because I knew you were the stronger one to handle them. Just like I gave certain gifts over to Ruby's possession, because she would be better suited to them than you would yourself. You two truly are two parts of the same whole, but yet, at the same time, so completely separate from one another…_

**But in that of Two…**

Sophia frowned to herself. She had always thought the prophecy was pretty specific, but now she wasn't too sure. Why was it that it was only her that had had the dreams? Why was it, that everything had fallen into place around her? Bringing her into the heart of the struggle?

_All of this will happen through you, Sophia…_

Sophia felt a tremor race up her spin as the meaning behind those words began to sink in. Her and Ruby may have been two parts from the same whole, but it was **_Sophia's_** destiny to deal with the threat that the Hunter posed.

But then why did the Prophecy make it seem as though, only together, they could bring them to justice?

_…they are not the only "Darkness" shadowing your people…_

So that was it. Two white females… Two crisis… Two changing of the tides in the history within the Pack… Could it be then, that even if they survived the night, their struggle would still be far from over?

What else would the shift in the winds of time blow into their lives that would require both of their strengths combined?

_…And it is these qualities that you both will bring to this time in your Pack's history, that will save them…_

Sophia pulled away from that line of thought. She couldn't go there. Not now. Not when she needed to focus on the present, and the answer quickly beginning to form within her mind as she drew on all of the events surrounding those moments from the past.

And, as suddenly as everything else had happened tonight, those little pieces began to suddenly connect, falling all perfectly into place. The meaning behind "Rianna's" cryptic remarks in regards to a mystic ability that were believed long gone… The special strengths that had been gifted to Sophia primarily... The ones that had already awakened from within her… All involving some sort of strong mental capability. 

And, most importantly, the mysterious connection between the Hunters' pendants and her crystal. 

She blinked reflexively, slowly trying to clear her slightly glazed, unfixed expression. Her dirt-covered fingers released their anchor and came up to caress the faceted edges of the six-sided crystal drop in revelation. Now as familiar to her as her own skin.

If the Hunters' cloaking pendants were the link that needed to be severed in order to bring about the destruction of their society – and it was Sophia's primary mental abilities that would be the knife used to cut that thread – then it needed a link – no, a mirror – to reflect that energy. A connection that would merge two minerals most likely taken from the same location so long ago. Split apart to form two completely separate identities.

And that mirror was currently dangling from around her neck.

****** 

Luke's heart pounded out a fast rhythm deep in his chest. Pulsing against his ribcage achingly heavy. He kneeled protectively over Sophia's smaller frame, his hand on her naked skin, but he knew she was beyond sensing him there. Beyond hearing his words, and feeling his touch. She had been sucked back into whatever world it was that kept dragging her suddenly into its embrace.

"What's wrong with her?" Damien asked. His calm, unemotional voice changing only slightly to communicate his concern. He stepped closer, but paused in his movement when he detected that sudden tenseness in the muscles of Luke's back. A primal protectiveness rising as he subtly shifted his body so Damien could not see that of Sophia's. Suddenly aware of her state of undress. A factor that Luke had not been concerned with until now.

Knowing that Luke still didn't trust him, Damien respected the unspoken warning to back off, and he took one step back unobtrusively.

"I'm not too sure if I understand it myself." Luke muttered. Still watching Sophia's face attentively. He reached out instinctively along their mental path, but sensed before he made contact that distracting her like that would only make matters worse. Possibly even harmful.

Later he would wonder if that certainty had come from his own mind or not.

"Then I take it this is something that has happened before?" Damien's tone was even. Inquisitive. Giving no hint to the turmoil within. He knew in his soul that Sophia was the key to all this madness. The hand that would press the lid down firmly on this opened Pandora's box of madness, once and for all.

And in doing so, rescue him from his inner demons that were still secretively tearing consistently at his sanity, even at this very moment.

Although one wouldn't know it to look at him, Damien was fighting for his soul… 

And his strength was beginning to ebb. 

"Yes." Luke growled under his breath. His tone putting an end to their tense conversation. He turned his focus back to Sophia, and waited for her to come back to reality, like she always had before.

And praying desperately that that facture wouldn't be changed.

And that was when Sophia's lids began to flutter open.

****** 

One part of Sophia knew that she had no evidence to back up this kind of speculation. The second part of her didn't care. She knew in her gut that **_this_** was****it. The answer. It couldn't be any other. All she had heard and experienced and **_felt_** up until this very moment had occurred in order to guide her to the correct path. And that path was now stretched out in front of her with glaring intensity. Daring her to finally admit to its existence and begin her journey to wherever it would lead.

In a way, she felt like she was standing on a cliff. Balanced carefully on the brink. Behind her was the end of her logical existence, coupled with the death of her family... her love… her Pack. Her **_life_**.

And below her dwelt the possibility of freedom and passion and safety. And the only acceptance that had ever really mattered. Acceptance from herself.

But to get there, she would have to allow herself to fall. To believe in herself and her still growing strengths. To not doubt her purpose or her power.

To get there, she would have to **_believe._**

As her gaze cleared, and she began to remember where she was, she turned bright, glittering, dark eyes to Luke's still kneeling form, just a few inches away from hers.

She studied the familiar lines and contours of his inhumanly beautiful face. Knowing then what her decision was going to have to be.

 "Hey there," he whispered. Unable to disguise his relief over her return to awareness. He reached out a hand to gently touch her cheek. "What happened to you?"

Sophia's lips curved slightly, and she leaned the side of her face into his hand. Body relaxing. 

Sniffing slightly, she tilted her face back up reluctantly, and swallowed in an attempt to steady her emotions. Throat and mouth suddenly dry. "Everything."

Luke frowned slightly in confusion.

Sophia reached up a hand to lay over his, still cupping her cheek. Wanting to erase those frown lines from her smooth forehead. "I know now what I must do. I know how to stop it. Stop them."

She sensed the way his pulse picked up speed alertly, and she listened, almost hypnotized by its steady but fast beat. The sound becoming the center of her world for a brief moment in time.

"How?"

Pulling herself reluctantly from her daze, Sophia removed her hand regretfully from his. Reaching it out to feather the tips of her fingers over his jaw-line. Feeling the slight coarseness of the shadow of stubble stretching out across it.

His frown just deepened. Luke could sense that things weren't right. There was a change that was starting to take place from within her. Something that was rising to the surface. Along with his fear of losing her to something neither one of them could control.

Sophia smiled again reassuringly. Still touching his face. Unable to answer his question. How could she explain something that she herself didn't fully understand, and probably never would? But it didn't matter. He would know what she had meant soon enough. They all would. This was something that was going to require the combined abilities of the entire Pack.

It would require unlimited and raw power flowing from the **_hundreds_** of bodies that made up the Pack… into just one.

**_Hers._**

Sophia wasn't stupid. She wasn't blind. The odds of her living through something so powerful, so intense, when just her abilities alone sometimes overwhelmed her, weren't very good. She had no idea whether or not she was going to survive it. But she knew now that this was her destiny. Just as her mother's had been to give birth to a despised and ridiculed half-breed daughter, before her own sudden and mysterious death. Probably at the very hands of one of the Pack members that Sophia was going to save tonight.

And she would have liked to believe that it was because of her sense of loyalty to the Pack that was pushing her to accept the possibility of her own death. To place her very mind and soul into the grip of an overwhelming strength that was more of a curse than a gift. 

But the truth of it was, she was doing it for one, and one only. No one else was playing into her decision.

She would do whatever it took to keep him alive. Even if it meant sacrificing herself.

And if it came down to that, then she would accept her fate willingly, and without reservation.

In that moment she understood more than she ever had, what the last minutes of life for her mother must have been like.

And just like her, if given the chance, Sophia would change nothing.

"I love you... Don't ever forget that."

Luke flinched against the finality of those words. Heart nearly coming to a halt as he felt her pulling away from him. In more ways than one.

"Sophia…" he called out desperately. Knowing it was too late. He couldn't stop her. Couldn't stop whatever it was that was taking her from him, and placing her directly in the heart of the flames.

And that something was even stronger than his connection to her. Greater.

And he had to let her go. And risk the chance of losing her forever. He had never even had a choice in the matter. He couldn't fool himself into believing he did.

Lids fluttering closed with the image of his face still firmly locked within her heart, Sophia's fingers slid from Luke's cheek to fall limply in her lap.

He felt as if his soul was being torn in half.

In her mind's eye, she was back up upon that cliff of uncertainty, looking down into a dark void with no bottom. No safety net. No security. No promises. No sure things. Only the yawning weight of the terror pressing at her from behind, and the cool, welcoming haven of the open air in front. Coupled with the calming image of a pair of peridot colored eyes, and the soothing memory of the feel of his fur brushing up against her skin… A night spent in the shelter of the forest's protective embrace, the scent of pine and rich earth… the joining of two bodies, as the black velvet heavens above them danced in a never-ending shower of miraculous light and magic.

It was a memory that eased the way for her. Reminding of her why she was here. And what was at stake.

Knowing the path that had to be taken, the power that had to be loosened, and the doubt that needed to be laid to rest, Sophia made her final decision… Her final acceptance…

_You're stronger than you think. _

… And chose to **_believe_**.

Reveling in the sensation of knowing that the moment of her destiny was at hand, she finally stepped off that cliff, letting go of the doubt and reluctance towards what she had **_thought_** she was, and **_who_** she was steadily becoming.

And simply allowed herself to fall… 

******  

Damien observed Luke and Sophia closely. The only presence of his unease was in the single muscle clenching tightly in his pale jaw-line. He had heard everything that Sophia had just said to Luke, and was probably reading it just as Luke was. 

Concern glittered hesitantly in his black gaze, as he started to speak. Wanting to bring to light his uncertainty of whether or not what Sophia was doing was the right thing for everyone involved, But his words were cut off when his gaze suddenly narrowed and his ears picked up the faint sound of something not quite right in.

Black eyes shot off to the side and into the alien forest surrounding them, as his highly toned body began to tense up instinctively in preparation. Knowing all to well what was currently stalking them from the shadows.

For in this night, it was only going to be one thing. 

And if they had located them this quickly, then it only meant one thing.

Vega's experimental program was running at full capacity.

"Luke," Damien growled out under his breath. Barely stronger than a whisper, but the words rang through the cold night air like the sharp sound of a gunshot. Luke's head whipped around to follow Damien's gaze into the inky depths of the surrounding trees. Picking up on the cautioning edge to Damien's tone.

"We've got company." Damien finished.

Luke didn't answer. But his eyes began to glow intensely with golden fire, even as he moved in closer to protect Sophia's unflinching and unaware crumpled form. Lost once more in the grip of her destiny. He could feel the change that had begun to happen in her mind. The way she had separated herself from the rest of the Pack… and from him. 

But at the same time, he could sense something **_else _**was growing from within her. Something strange. Something new. And something infinitely more dangerous and raw than he believed her capable of controlling. He could sense the embers stirring to life, fluttering determinedly just underneath the shivering calmness of the surface, and he knew that the resulting flames would very quickly begin to blaze out of control. Sweeping up everything in its path.

He may not have been able to stop her from initiating whatever it was she had just begun, and in the end, he may have been facing the possibility of losing her completely, but the protectiveness that welled up inside of him was powerful. Inhuman. His instincts were fast becoming more animal than man, when a male was faced with a defenseless and weak mate in need of protection. 

And even if the desire to protect her stemmed from wanting to keep her safe from herself, more so than from the enemies so close to discovering them, hell would freeze before anyone would touch her.

Damien didn't flinch, even the as hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he heard the hoarse rumbling exit Luke's throat from behind him.

He had the sudden inclination to feel a twinge of pity towards those unsuspecting Hunters searching through the underbrush. Pulling closer and closer with every charged second that went by to where all three of them were hidden. Soon to be in plain view.

Rolling his back shoulder muscles reflexively to loosen them, Damien smirked a little as he squelched the ridiculous response, as he and Luke – enemies as of just a few minutes ago – prepared to protect Sophia… and their last chance of survival.

****** 

Sophia felt like she had been cast out into the middle of a symbolic wind-storm. Being bombarded and struck and pressed from all sides at the same time as her soul was being channeled up and sent rushing down a yawning and dark tunnel. Gathering up an intense speed with every passing moment, until she could feel that imaginary wind slicing against her skin. Ripping at her mind in ways she never could have imagined. Tearing at her insides. Sending her neural pathways up in flames. Burning brightly with aftereffects that she could only imagine was leaving burnt ash in their wake.

She could feel her indecision mounting. Her fear. But it was too late to back down now. She had to see this through. She had to finish what she had begun.

Even if all she could hear was the mental echoes of her agonizing screams hitting the interior of her bombarded and chaotic mind.

But it didn't matter, for she couldn't believe anymore that she was still even in control of her own body or mind… or her soul. Something else had taken over. Using her as its chosen vessel and nothing more in pursuit of its goal and purpose. 

As she shot down further and further into the depths of her own mind, she became aware of a strange sensation of something starting to flicker to life. Bringing with it an intensity and urgency that could only mean one thing.

This was what she was looking for. What had drawn her to it at such a break neck pace. Damning all consequences to a furious hell in an almost mindless pursuit of the only weapon that could destroy the enemy that currently threatened the survival of her kind.

A weapon that was stirring restlessly from unconsciousness. Unwinding itself from its dormant state of rest and hiding, like a cobra from its hibernation. Hissing and growing in strength at an alarming rate. Evaluating the situation at hand, and compensating for what was going to need to be done to remedy it.

And removing once and for all any say that Sophia had in this frightening ability. 

It was building. Becoming stronger. More powerful. She could feel it gathering up all of her mental and wolven abilities into its grip as it spun faster and faster. A brilliant blurs of sphere-like hues indescribable to the human eye.

And then, all of a sudden, the world surrounding her shifted, rippling out from under her, and everything around and within exploded in a continuous outpouring that shook the foundations of the entire Pack. 

She could feel it gathering the strengths and powers of every member of the Pack. Moving with a speed that was shocking. She could sense dozens of unique mental powers merging with hers whether their owners wanted them to or not. Building. Gathering. Seeking. Merging.

Soon it was hundreds… soon it was half the Pack, and then most of the Pack… 

And then **_all_**.

Sophia's wind-storm had turned into a tornado, and she was in the heart of it. Desperately clinging to her sanity by the tips of her fingernails. Shattering and breaking away from the very seams that held her together. 

She could never have imagined this much power. This much force. It flowed through her veins with crackling and fizzing intensity. Burning in her lungs. Screaming down her throat, and shattering in her mind.

No one was meant to experience this much strength. This much belief. She didn't know whether to consider herself in agony or ecstasy. Heaven or hell. Salvation or damnation. Somewhere along the line, they had all melted into one.  

And it had become her world.

And she embraced it.

****** 

Luke crouched down lower in the underbrush patiently, as he watched the steady approach of the two oblivious Hunters. 

They stepped cautiously through the underbrush, nervous gazes searching out the hidden depths of the world around them. Maybe because some recess of their mind informed them that they were being watched. Or maybe because of the way the shadows surrounding them began to shift ominously in the almost pitch blackness of their surroundings. The thick cloud cover still coating the night sky up above.

Maybe some instinctive survival trait was sending off little warning bells in their heads. Or maybe, their paranoia stemmed from their lack of experience with the hunt.

It didn't matter. They had dared to threaten his female. To seek her out, and put an end to her life. 

But in the end, it would be their blood that would be spilt. Not hers.

When the two enemies suddenly stepped into the clearing, they realized their fatal mistake all too late, when the formidable night around them exploded furiously into the brutal violence of the tables being turned. The hunters becoming the prey.

They were attacked from both sides. One, by a naked Skinwalker male with eyes glowing in feral intensity, and the other swathed in black clothes. His face familiar to theirs as one of their brothers. A comrade. A leader.

They never even saw the small crumpled form of the naked girl nestled in the ground, as still as death. Their last emotions were that of the feelings of betrayal and hatred. Their deaths coming quickly, even as their curses spilt the very heavens.

And the black shadows in the forest continued to dance in their macabre fashion as the tree limbs swayed in tune. Branches creaking and leaves rustling, as blood sprayed out to lay its blackish mark across a broad trunk, droplets falling into the dark green moss and ferns nestled at its base. 

When Luke finally turned away from the remains of the battle in front of him, he couldn't help but acknowledge the extent of what he had just done, and the effects it would have on him from that point on.

This night had become the night of his first kill. 

Shaking away his reaction, he refocused on Sophia. Coming back to kneel beside her.

Her skin was cold to the touch. Her lips almost blue. She shuddered occasionally, like she was trying to throw something off of her very skin that clung to her with its chilling tentacles.

Suddenly he felt a pressure begin to build in his mind. At first, he thought he was sensing something that was happening to her. Thought that he was receiving an echo of what she was already being put through by whatever force that had taken over.

It didn't take long though, for him to realize that that wasn't the case. Whatever it was, it had suddenly drained him of his mental strength and wolven abilities as cleanly as if someone had pulled the plug in a large bathtub filled with water. Leaving him bewildered and confused as he tried to blink away the slightly dazed expression he knew he had plastered on his face, and tried to focus. **_Wanting _**to understand what was happening.  To her. To him… And currently spreading throughout the rest of the Pack like a wildfire. 

Letting out a breath, he pushed away his instinctive fears over losing his abilities once more, his unsettling emotions concerning his first kill, and the mass confusion swelling along the faint presence of the public mental pathway that was quickly fading, and closed his eyes tightly. His hand unconsciously coming out to grasp her chilled, lifeless one. Wanting to relay warmth into her any way he could, as he desperately sought out some way to help her. An insistent murmuring voice in the back of his mind suddenly alerting him of her desperate need of his help and their connection. Something that was vital to her survival

****** 

Damien watched from the shadows. Chest heaving gently from exertion, and a cut visible against the drawn paleness of the side of his face. Black eyes flaming with life and aggression as he suddenly reached up and snatched off his pendant harshly. Leather cord snapping against the pressure, and leaving an imprinted red line against his nape. He tossed it unceremoniously into the blood-splattered ground at his feet, and turned his face up to the night sky as the wind began to pick up speed. Rustling against his cloths and further loosening the leather tie's hold on his thick mane.

The look on the Hunters' faces before the moment of their deaths ate away at him more than anything else had all night. The images emblazoned strongly upon his mind, and mocking him with his betrayal.

Images tempered mercifully only with those of a certain female, who had dared to see past the icy demeanor, and drag his hardened heart back out into the warmth of the sun.

Looking back down at his palms, he idly wondered if she would consider him to be worth it, after he came to her with blood on his hands.

****** 

When Luke slowly began to open his eyes, he knew that he wasn't really **_seeing_** anything. Knew that where he was standing, wasn't really where his actual body was. Knew that the sensations he was feeling, weren't actually happening to him at all.

He was standing in a fog-filled valley. A milky white and brilliant, pure moon shone victoriously up above. Its light magical and peaceful. Soothing after the alien night sky he had been under for the last few nights.

But even that, he knew, wasn't real.

He was in a dream. A vision. 

And he wasn't alone.

He placed his focus upon the female standing a few feet away. An Old World simply styled dress of velvet sapphire clung to her body. Dark curls cascaded down her back to her waist. Falling loose and free in the night's breeze. Tendrils of fog were wrapped around her lower legs. Moisture particles clinging to the rasping silkiness of the luxurious fabric.

And a familiar crystal the color of fire hung from her neck. Encircling a throat and laying against an upper chest in which pale, silvery lines of old scar tissue were visible. A similar line shimmering against the curve of her cheek in the caress of the moonlight.

Her dark colored eyes were serene and peaceful. And she was studying him as closely as he was her. Maybe closer.

His first response was that this must be Rianna, the spirit of the woman that had been plaguing Sophia for the last couple of days. But then that response was replaced with another one. This one the impression of ancient power and unlimited strength that far surpassed just the life of one woman or even two. 

But of dozens. From the past, the present, and the future. All of them destined. All of them special.

All of them with pelts the color of the light currently shinning down from above. 

And somehow he knew she was sizing him up. Testing him. Seeking out the answer to whether or not he could be considered worthy.

She must have received the answer she was looking for, because she finally began to speak. And her message was clear and to the point.

"Sophia is strong. But she is only one, trying to draw upon and contain the strengths of hundreds. She needs you now, more than ever. Or she will die." The woman quirked her brow at him. Tone becoming slightly mocking. "Do you care for her as you claim to do so, young one? Or is your love doubtful?"

"I would die for her." he replied simply. Truthfully. Not blinking as she weighed the value of his words.

Slowly, she began to nod. "Good. For if you doubt, know this… she will die, and all will be lost. Forever."

With that, the woman began to disappear. Fading away. Molecules glittering in the night air like miniature diamonds, as everything around Luke went up in a blaze of white light, and he could feel his consciousness being propelled determinedly towards an untold destination by an unrevealed force, but one he knew would bring him to Sophia… And in that moment, that was all that mattered.

****** 

It wasn't enough.

She currently had all the power and the strength of the entire Pack contained within her. Rattling the foundations of her very mind. Singeing her soul, and the pressure of it was desperately seeking a way out. A release. An opening that refused to give, simply because it wasn't enough.

She could feel herself beginning to fall apart, **_and it wasn't enough._**

****

What had she done wrong? Had she chosen the wrong course? The wrong path? Had this been a test? One that she had failed miserably, and would now pay for that failure with her life?

Had she lost? What would happen to the Pack? Would they now pay for her ignorance with their lives?

She would have screamed out her frustration and agony if she could have found her vocal cords, but she was no longer even a part of her own body. She was separate and lost. No way of finding her way back. No way of ridding her mind of the power that was demanding an exit that she couldn't give it, and promising to claim her life in retaliation of her inability to finish what she had begun.

She could sense the end close at hand. The fire that had raged into an inferno and was preparing to destroy the one who had created it.

And then something happened. Something she hadn't expected. A second force, a second but familiar consciousness coming up alongside hers. Brushing her tortured and raw mind with the memory of silken fur upon skin. The cool kiss of a dawn spent together in a time that seemed so long ago, but in actuality, had only been a few days past.

Sophia felt as if her soul was literally breaking into a million pieces as Luke wrapped her up tightly in the soothing embrace of his mind. Easing her burden, by taking some of it upon himself. 

She couldn't even begin to imagine the strength and determination it must have taken for him to do that. To sacrifice so much. He hadn't been chosen to shoulder such a burden. Didn't possess the ability to deal with it. But despite all of that, he was with her now. 

Simply because, somehow, someway, he had known she was in trouble. And he had entered the very fires of hell to come in after her. 

Even if in doing so, he knew he would be committing suicide if she didn't find the answer that they all sought to the question as to whether or not they would live to see the morning. 

That was how much faith he had placed in her.

Sophia felt a rise of her own determination as she began to struggle to hold on. Casting away her own sense of hopelessness, in an attempt to understand what had went wrong. She couldn't let herself doubt like that again. **_This_** was the right path, and like all true paths, there was a way through it… she just had to discover it. 

By throwing his strength in behind hers, Luke had provided her with enough relief to begin to think clearly. But with every moment that passed, it was one less than what her and Luke could afford.

Giving up, she finally quit trying to figure it out on her own, knowing she would never find the answer to it in time, and reached out to that other aspect of her soul. The part of her that was wolven, and to **_something _**else that had told her in a dream that she would always be with her.

And she felt that something reciprocate. Reaching out to touch her briefly with a memory and a sense of what she was looking for. Leaving behind a feeling of calm and peacefulness and strength. Allowing her to push away into a distant recess of her mind the ecstasy and agony beating at her soul. The knowledge that only she could complete the circle begun, and pressing her to finish it. Once and for all.

…Abilities you never could have dreamed of will rise to the surface to aid you, and powers that your Clan have believed dead ever since the migration to the New World, will also become known…

_…A mystery of the Pack's past will be revealed and answered, and all of this will happen through you…_

And that was when Sophia felt it. Sensed it. Sensed **_them. _**Their power swelling, merging, joining. Called by hers in desperation, even across the borders of isolation and disbelief and the span of time. 

_…A mystery…_

And it came. A constant outpouring of **_hundreds_** across a new and foreign mind-merge from thousands of miles away. Forming a separate and distinct sphere core, and then intermingling with the one already pulsing with life and raw intensity from within her. Doubling the strength of her Pack… with the merging of theirs.

_…believed dead…_

Sophia couldn't stop to think about the ramifications of this revelation, for her path's opening had just been revealed to her. 

Gathering up all the strength that flowed within her, she mentally knocked Luke's presence aside. Knowing that if she didn't, the increase in wolven power would crush his mind instantaneously. 

She shot away from him. From her own mind. Surrounded with the force of not one but **_two_** different Packs. Both believers that they were the last of their kind. Alone in the world. Brought together finally by circumstances that would reveal their presence to the other, with the death of an ancient enemy that had spilt them apart to begin with, hundreds of years ago.

She couldn't help but think how fitting that was. How… predictable.

Sophia felt their combined force swirl up from within her. Pressure mounting. Power increasing. Emotion rising. All striving towards their goal.

And finally, when it reached the peak of its strength, it stilled. Falling silent. Going dark. 

**_Waiting..._**

****** 

Back in Sophia's human form, her lids flickered open. Eyes focusing with a brilliant clarity as they burned like liquid molten. A golden light that pierced the surrounding darkness, but paled in comparison to the crystal hanging from around her neck that was literally blazing out of control. 

Drawing back up to her knees, she sat up and looked over at Luke, who was crumpled at her side. Unconscious but still breathing.

She reached out a slender hand, and gently touched his cheek. Her fingers cold against the warmth of his skin.

She seemed unaware of Damien standing nearby. Hand braced up on the trunk of a tree as he watched her with a mixture of disbelief, fear, hope, and awe present in his dark gaze.

Sophia tilted her head up to the night sky. Watching as the thick muting clouds up above raced by angrily. Wind around her picking up speed almost in defiance. Or maybe it was encouraging her. Symbolic of what burned restlessly beneath the surface of her flesh. 

Her jaw clenched resolutely, and her fingers unconsciously tightened on Luke's arm. Knuckles going white. Anchoring herself to him in those last few moments.

Images of her dream of the village flashed by. The memory and sensation of the carnage that had surrounded her filling her mind with its gut-wrenching presence.

She wasn't going to let that happen again. 

"It ends here." 

With those words pushed past her dry lips, the stilled, waiting power came roaring back to life from inside her. Exploding outward. The pendant from around her neck flaring up as bright as a sun. Making visual sight impossible.

A haunting scream exited from the curved expanse of Sophia's throat as she tossed her head back against the shockwaves ripping through her… as the loosened power coursing from her body set upon the night purposely, after so many centuries of being restrained, with a vengeance that would not be denied.

****** 

I have to admit, I'm surprised." Eric stated calmly as he stood over the crumpled form of Matthew Donner. Hanging limply from his torn and still heavily bound wrists. 

Despite his quick healing reflexes, blood coursed in rivulets down his naked body. Face a mass of cuts and bruises. 

He had lost count of how many times he had felt the cut of a blade, or the black agony of his body being beaten yet again. As soon as one wound healed, another three replaced it in a never-ending hell of painful sensation.

But it had all faded away into nothingness. Telling Eric where he could locate the Pack was never even a consideration in his mind, and he held to that belief even in these final moments. He had sensed Eric's increasing boredom, and knew that the human male was preparing to make his last and fatal strike.

"I never expected you to take it this well. Part of me is starting to wonder if you really know anything at all." His smirk grew. "But that is a suspicion that will just have to remain between the two of us."

Matt didn't even try to answer. His head hung down low limply. Chin pressed into his chest, as his lids flickered shut. Waiting calmly for death to claim him with oblivion.

Which is why he didn't see the sudden flash of light that struck soundlessly at the base of Eric's neck, and the necks of the other Hunters with him. But he did pull his pain clouded gaze back up in time to watch Eric's body suddenly collapse in front of him. Following the sound of the others dropping as well.

Confused, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. He looked around, half expecting to see some of his own kind come slipping out from the tree line. Carrying some form of weapon or other that could have dropped the enemy so efficiently silent.

But no such event presented itself. 

Looking back at Eric's limp body, slightly dumb-struck, his eyes widened subtly as he saw the gaping hole the size of one's fist that had been ripped out of his throat. The wound giving off the appearance and smell of having been cauterized from the inside out. Burning the exposed tissue before it ever even had a chance to bleed openly.

But that wasn't what captured his attention. What did was the presence of a strange metallic colored, disc shaped mineral the size of one's thumb, buried directly in the center of the wound. Smoke trailing up from its suddenly flickering core, as thin filaments of what looked like reddish black energy chased across the smooth surface. Dancing and hissing as the pulses began to slow down, and then finally come to a stop.

But with the sudden normalcy of the unobtrusive looking stone, he watched as it suddenly began to disintegrate. The hard material breaking apart to suddenly transform into gray dust.

Finally the strange performance ended. Leaving Matt to wonder whether or not he may have imagined it in his body's pain-racked state. 

But the presence of the charred and broken leather strips that the cloaking stones had been threaded upon, that still clung to what was left of their necks was more than enough proof to show him that he was most definitely still in possession of his right mind.

****** 

Sherman still had the small group of children clustered around him. Still had the protective shield covering them all. Not only keeping them safe from the weapons of the Hunters surrounding them, but also hiding them from view.

But Sherman wasn't too sure how much longer he could hold out.

Sweat beaded its way across his forehead. Dripping down the sides of his face, and into his eyes. Burning persistently. He held as long as he could. Sending silent prayers upwards in the hopes that it would be enough. Enough time for the tides to turn. Enough time for the enemy to fall, and the moon to set.

The shield stuttered, causing the children to whimper in fear. Not fully understanding what was happening, but knowing that their Keeper was fighting to keep them safe from the enemy.

The shield stuttered again, and Sherman clenched his jaw. Throwing everything he had left in behind it. Draining what remained of his strength for a few more precious minutes.

Then it flickered, stuttered again, and then died all together. Leaving them all vulnerable to the night.

Sherman accepted the inevitable and prepared to be met with the sounds of yet more gun fire as the Hunters finished them all off.

But instead, he was met with the scenes of surrounding carnage. Both Skinwalker and Hunter.

Observing the sight of the burnt out holes in the necks of the deceased Hunters, he also took in the bullet ridden bodies of the dozen so Pack members strewn out across the blood soaked ground. Swallowing painfully as he heard the children behind him start to cry hysterically.

He didn't move to comfort them. Instead, he turned his focus back to the dead Hunters, and then up to the night sky grimly, as the thick clouds suddenly began to part.

****** 

Almost as soon as it had begun, it ended. 

Sophia's head fell back forward limply. The echoes of her scream still sounding in the forest surrounding her.

As soon as the joined power had accomplished its job, it began to split apart all on its own. Returning to its individual owner. Leaving Sophia with a yawning dark cavern in her mind. Mysteriously devoid of all pain or blinding light. Leaving her in darkness.

It was over. The link had been severed. 

The Hunters were dead.

Forcing herself to look up at the night sky, she watched with a sense of euphoria as the clouds up above finally parted. Revealing the night sky to her eyes once more.

But instead of the view of the crimson colored moon from the Prophecy meeting her gaze, she was met with the sight of a brilliant **_white_** moon that shone down upon the forest with a familiar glowing brilliance that had never been more precious to her than in that moment.

Smiling faintly, she allowed herself to succumb to the sudden exhaustion beating at her. Secure in the knowledge that everything was going to be okay now.

Body crumpling once more as blessed unconsciousness claimed her, she landed on her side. One slender palm turning up, fingers gently curved inwards, towards the moonbeams shining down through the tree limbs, as it fell limply into the crushed brown leaves underneath her. Dark hair fanning out around her head, as the moonlight caressed the line of her cheek.

And the crystal from around her neck ceased it subtle flickers of light from within, and returned back to its normal appearance. Polished, faceted sides naturally reflecting the soft glow from above.

****** 

When Luke finally stirred awake, it was to a skull-shattering headache that would put any hang-over to shame, and only vague memories of what had happened after his encounter with 'Rianna'.

Remaining on his back, he slowly opened his eyes, and his pain was momentarily forgotten as he was met with the vision of the revealed night sky above. Complete with a natural white moon, with no unnatural discoloration at all. 

The ramifications of this struck him quickly, and he turned his head to look at Sophia. Still lying where she had fallen just moments ago. 

And she didn't appear to be breathing.

His heart literally ceased to beat for several seconds, and when it finally did start up again, it was accompanied with a growing sense of panic.

Later he wouldn't even remember moving. One minute he was a few feet away from her, still laying on his back. The next he was kneeling in the dirt and cradling her in his arms. Ear pressed to her chest in desperation. His lips chanting her name in soft, pleading litany, as he tucked her freezing, unresponsive body into the warmth of his own. 

He was breathing so heavily, it took him a moment to realize that, although she was not moving, he could discern the subtle but steady beat of her heart, the shallow breaths that she drew, and the life that he could still feel pulsing through their restored mental link.

Heart beat slowing down from it frantic pace, Luke took in a deep, calming breath, and forced the muscles of his body to relax. Ignoring Damien – who was currently squatting down a few feet away, resting on the balls of his feet as he continued to watch them – and still clinging tightly to the woman cradled across his lap and in his arms.

"Is she alive?" There was no hint of emotion whatsoever in Damien's softly spoken words.

Luke nodded grimly, and looked back up at the night sky visible through the towering treetops. Seeing that the now-normal moon was beginning to set, and the dawn of a new day was beginning to lighten the midnight colored horizon.

He held Sophia's unconscious body to him in complete silence. Refusing to believe in any other possibility, than that of her awakening and returning to him. 

He watched as the dawn began to chase away the shadows of the night. Bringing with it the sound of the daytime creatures of the forest awakening and the birds beginning to sing out their songs.

He watched as Damien quietly slipped away. Giving them the privacy and space that they needed as he went off on his own.

He watched as the moon disappeared, and the sun rose. Heralding the beginning of a new day.

And he watched as Sophia's eyes finally began to flutter open groggily. The light of awareness that came to those eyes when she remembered where she was, and what had happened.

He watched the welcoming smile that came into that honey-brown gaze, glimmering up at him in the purity of the early morning light. And the way that his name was the first word formed by that petal soft mouth.

And he submersed himself in the sensation of bringing those lips to his in a kiss that tasted of his relief and desire and the promise of a new beginning for them all. 

****** 

Dr. Steven Harris's mouth thinned slightly as he listened to what was being said on the other line of his cell, before slowly pulling it away from his ear, and snapping it closed.

Turning around, he whispered something silently to one of his men, who nodded in consent and turned away. Giving the order to evacuate the woods surrounding the town.

But before Steven slid into the back seat of his own personal vehicle, he took one last moment to look out over the quickly awakening town. The sun's rising casting light across the houses and streets and buildings. Catching in the ripples upon the lake in blinding defiant flashes of light. 

He remembered back on just how close he had been a few days ago to having all the information that he needed from his examination of that white wolf, before that strange human male, who was more than just a mere man, had managed to escape with his strongest piece of captured live evidence yet. 

Nevertheless, he had gathered enough to begin his work, but in order to pursue his answers, he would have to leave Wolf Lake for the time being… But he would be back, once everything was ready. 

And he wouldn't need the blood thirsty and fanatical Hunters to provide the way for him.

Soon, he silently swore to himself, all his hard work would pay off. Soon, the human Society that he was working for would have the proof that they needed. Soon the Skinwalkers would no longer be able to hide beyond the cloak of their mysterious town.

Soon, the rest of the world would know their secrets. Their gifts and their abilities.

And their personal demons he would know intimately. And in so doing, reveal the ultimate truth.

It was just a matter of waiting for the right moment. The correct leverage… 

And the perfect weapon.

His lips twisted up slightly at the corners humorlessly as he slid into the waiting car. Careful not to jostle his bandaged shoulder and accompanying sling. Compliments of the bullet hole that that man/wolf **_thing _**protecting the white Skinwalker female had pumped into him.

He had spent almost his entire life, in restless search of the truth. But, when it came right down to it, Dr. Steven Harris was nothing if not capable of being a **_very_** patient man. 

******

(Soundtrack Suggestion – "Everything" by Lifehouse on the albums "No Name Face" and the "Smallville Soundtrack"  It took me a long time to figure out which song I wanted to use for this following scene… I bounced back and forth between several for a LONG time, before finally coming across this piece… and it just fit it perfectly. Lyrics, vocals, and the slow beat that can almost disappear into the background, that suddenly picks up at the very end with a climatic sounding finale that sends a shiver down one's spine, without being too overpowering or too fast… Love it, just love it…)

//Find me here… speak to me...//

He had found her. Of course, she acknowledged silently to herself, if he was still alive, she had known he would.

//I want to feel you… I need to hear you…//

Presley took in a breath as she beat back the intense wave of relief that she felt flow through her body and tremble in her already exhausted muscles upon the sight of him. Slowly slipping away from the surrounding trees and into the opening to meet her. Dark eyes shadowed in his pale face, even in the early morning light.

//You are the light… that is leading me…//

Presley and Vivian had answered the private mental call for assistance from Matt, and had made their way back to his location in a very short amount of time. 

The memory of the determination and strength in Vivian's human form as they both had maintained a break-neck pace the entire way, leaping over brush and collapsed trees, ducking under branches and following almost nonexistent deer trails, was something that would be with her for a long time to come.

She could still hear them a little ways behind her. Talking softly with one another as Vivian managed to release him from his bonds, and tended to the most severe aspects of his wounds.

Although she was baffled by the deaths of the Hunters, she wasn't really ready to focus on figuring it out just yet. She was just relieved that it was finally over. Matt had already called the entire Pack back to Wolf Lake. They would all be back home by late afternoon. And then, everything would go back to normal.

If there was such a thing.

Presley had stepped away to give Matt and Vivian their privacy. Knowing that this was a moment between them that needed to be kept personal.

And that was when he came to her.

//…to the place where, I find peace again…//

Squeezing her glittering eyes closed against the burning relief she felt under her lids, she reopened them as she sensed him stop a few feet away from her.

//You are the strength… that keeps me walking...//

"You're alive." she whispered in awe. Stepping closer to reach out a trembling hand to touch his cheek in disbelief. Her fingertips moved of their own violation to caress the line of his mouth. Feeling the velvet firmness of his lips beneath her touch.

//You are the hope… that keeps me trusting…//

He let her touch him, but made no move to reciprocate.

Presley's hand dropped away, and her eyes wandered over his form. Taking in his free-flowing mass of hair, dusty clothing, and what smelled faintly of blood. But not his. None of it his.

//You are the life to my soul... You are my purpose…//

And most importantly, the lack of that damning pendant from around his neck.

//You are everything…// 

She brought her eyes back up meet his. Heart aching at the cold bleakness she saw reflected there… and she knew. She knew then that he had come to say goodbye.

He was leaving her.

//And how can I stand here with you…//

In a way, he was already gone.

//…and not be moved by you…?//

Damien barely managed to keep from flinching from the pained awareness he suddenly saw blazing in her eyes, and he knew then that she understood what he had sought her out to do. Knew why he had come to her this one last time.

//Would you tell me, how could it be any better than this?//

"Why?"

Damien swallowed reflexively when he heard the pain in her one word question, but his gaze never wavered.

//You calm the storms…//

"You don't want me, Presley. You have no idea what I'm capable of doing. What I've done. Although the struggle within my mind and heart has died, there is a darkness present in my soul that will never leave me. There will always be a piece of what I used to be residing there. **_Haunting_** me."

//You give me rest…// 

Presley started to shake her head in denial, but Damien stopped her from trying to respond. His accent thickening till it carried that strange quality of velvet rasping over stone. "I am the last of my brethren, Presley. The only survivor left of **_hundreds. _**There is much I have to atone for, and I cannot do so if I remain here. If I did, you would always be at risk. There is much still left of my father's influence in this world, that has to be dealt with. There are documents that need to be destroyed. Paper trails that need to be eliminated. I can't just walk away from all that."

//You hold me in your hands…// 

"But you'll come back, right? When you've done what you need to do, you'll come back to me?" Presley couldn't hide the slight tremor to her words, as she stood in front of him. Heart exposed. Hands fisted at her sides. Nails biting into her palms.

//You won't let me fall…// 

Damien was silent for a moment. Searching for the right words, and at the same time, battling his own desires.

//You still my heart…// 

"I don't know how long it will take," he admitted. "Or if it will ever even be enough."

Presley's eyes suddenly flared up challengingly.

//And you take my breath away...//

"Enough for what, Damien? For you to stop blaming yourself? Or to stop running from whatever demons you believe to be in your past?"

His dark eyes narrowed. "You don't know what you're talking about, Presley. What you are risking by wanting to be with me."

"Oh, don't I?" she shot back. "You're a liar, Damien. You're lying to me, which is bad enough, but most importantly you're lying to yourself!"

Damien moved so quickly, she didn't even have a chance to react. One minute they were facing each other off, and the next he had hauled her up against him. Body pressing aggressively, **_possessively_** into hers, as his gaze burned down at her in suppressed fury and passion.

Presley didn't even wince at the strength he exhibited, but glared up into his eyes angrily. Trying to ignore the sudden flames of desire licking at her skin from the feeling of his body against hers. She couldn't believe he was doing this. Not after everything that they had been through. And she hated him for it. But more than anything, she hated the way her heart was breaking. Betraying her in a way she had never thought possible.

//Would you take me in…?// 

"What do you want from me, Presley?" His black eyes simmered down at her. The coolness of his gaze had been chased away by the flames she saw burning there now.

"I want the man that stood with me on that cliff overlooking that forsaken town." she shot back. "I want the man that risked his life to save all of us. I want the man that I walked with and bared my soul to! I want **_you_**, Damien!" She fell silent for a moment. Eyes shifting over his face as she watched his reaction to her words. She swallowed nervously, before dropping the tone of her voice down an octave.

"And I know, without a doubt, that you want me, too." 

//Would you take me deeper now…?// 

His grip tightened to the point of pain. As he subtly inhaled her scent. The chemistry arching between them like a living thing, even as he sought to deny it. "Oh really? You seem to forget how easy it is for me to pretend, Presley. To be what I am not. To **_feel_** what I don't."

Presley shook her head vigorously. Throat constricting. "Not with me."

"**_Yes, with you!_**" Damien hissed. Almost shaking her to drive his point home. "Especially with you! Damn it, did you think that everything that came about, happened by chance? I **_allowed_** Eric to torture you. I made you think that I had rescued you, when in fact, all I was doing was following my father's orders. I played you, just as I played everyone else in my scheme to be free of my father's legacy! I implanted a microchip in you, **_Presley, _**so my father could track you and fall right into my hands**_. _**Why the hell would you think that any of the rest of what happened between us would be real?"

"You weren't responsible for my capture–" Presley started to deny hoarsely.

"That's just it, I **_was_**. I knew about the Meeting that your Pack was having that night. I even pointed you out to Eric. He originally was gunning for Sophia, but I ordered him to select you instead for capture, before going back to the Warehouse and preparing for your arrival." His words fell like gunshots. Dashing all her hopes and emotions away harshly, like a cold, unfeeling sea against the rocks.

Presley's face paled significantly, and Damien's grip gentled as he realized that she was finally starting to hear him. "**_Yes. _**Now you're finally beginning to understand. I **_chose_** you, to be victimized and played. I planned it all, Presley. Everything from your kidnapping to killing my father. Right down to every single moment. And I did a damn good job of it, too."

He didn't tell her though, that falling in love with her had never been a part of his plan. That his heart, did, indeed, belong to her. But that was something he wouldn't even admit to himself.

Presley didn't respond. But Damien watched as a single tear began its descent down the side of her silken cheek. And he felt it like a blow to the gut. 

But there was no other choice. He couldn't stay with her. He felt too much when in her presence. And it hurt to greatly to be reminded of what he could never have.

Slowly, his fingers began to loosen on their grip. Stepping away, he turned his face from her. 

"So you see, Presley… things are never what they seem."

//Would you take me in…?// 

Presley felt as if someone had ripped her soul out.

"I am the last person you should **_ever_** trust." He continued hoarsely. Eyes burning into hers as he turned back. Feeling a part of him that had come back to life when he had first touched her, beginning to die once more.

"Fine." Presley suddenly spat out. Eyes going blank as the lines of her face suddenly hardened. "You want me to believe you are a monster, Damien, fine. Then tell me once and for all… when we kissed yesterday afternoon, out on that cliff… was that all part of your **_plan? _**Your act? Did you feel **_nothing? _**Do you feel nothing when you are with me?**_"_**

****

//Would you take me deeper now…?// 

****

He just stood there. Watching her helplessly. Not moving. Not speaking.

But his silence gave her the answer she sought, and she knew understood more than he wanted her to, what he was trying to accomplish by speaking to her thus.

Presley nodded in dawning awareness. Lips twisting up mockingly. "You see? Now **_you're_** beginning to understand **_me_**. You can say whatever you want. Do whatever you want. You can try to push me away by revealing to me everything that you just did, but in the end, it **_doesn't matter_**. You need me, Damien. Because I'm the only one that has ever seen who you really are... And that scares the hell out of you."

'Cause you're all I want!! 

Damien visibly flinched. Breath coming raggedly as the impact of her words cut him right to the core. Leaving him defenseless. 

Not trusting himself to respond, he took a step back. Black, haunting eyes tracing over her features one last time, before he turned around and walked away.

You are all I need!! 

Presley watched the lines of his retreating back. The suppressed tears finally beginning to slide down her face. A small hand pressing against her chest almost in an attempt to keep the sensation of her heart being ripped out at bay, as a silent sob caught in her throat as she watched him disappear into the shadows of the forest, and out of her life. 

You are everything!! Everything!! 

Damien didn't look back. He didn't falter. Didn't pause. Didn't allow himself to feel the pain leaving her provoked. He had always been efficient at blocking out unwanted emotions, and this time was no different. 

But he couldn't stop her last spoken words from echoing permanently in his head. The scent of her that lingered in his mind, or the havoc that had been inflicted upon his body from the feel of the warmth of her skin pressed to his.

Or the sight of that solitary tear lingering on the smooth expanse of her cheek, or the brand of her fingertips as they had traced a path over his lips.

Or the fact that he was suddenly finding it more and more difficult to draw breath, the further and further the distance between them grew. 

But he never turned back.

**'Cause you're all I want!!**

**You are all I need!!**

**You are everything!!**

**Everything… **

**You are all I want!**

**You are all I need!!**

**You are everything!! **

**Everything…**

******   

(One Week Later…)

Sophia frowned softly to herself from where she was perched on a barstool in the Diner, as she read an article published on the front cover of the "Wolf Lake Post". The afternoon sun's golden light filtering through the old blinds to cast a play of striped shadows and light across the interior of the deserted restaurant.

Mass Suicides Continue to Baffle the Police 

****

****

_In a report released just yesterday, an FBI official stated_

_that the recent outbreak of mass suicides in the woods surrounding_

_the small, quiet  town of Wolf Lake appear to be the _

_workings of a fanatical cult._

_They are 'unofficially' connecting the suicides with the strange_

_occurrence of the moon appearing to be tinted red that shone _

_for several nights over the town, and will continue to do so unless_

_new evidence is provided._

_Local Astronomers state that the unpredicted _

_night view was caused by an unusual high level of natural pollution_

_and haze in the earth's atmosphere, and does not appear _

_to have been witnessed by anyone _

_else in the world._

_Police are refusing to say just how exactly the suicides were_

_carried out, but some local eye witnesses say that it appeared as_

_if they had strapped some sort of small explosive device _

_to the base of their necks._

_Police are also refusing to release an exact number of bodies still_

_in the process of being recovered, but they estimate _

_that it will be in the hundreds._

_Further updates will be made available to the public as_

_they happen…_

Sophia sighed as she dropped the paper back onto the counter, and massaged the muscles in the back of her neck tiredly. Turning just in time to watch Luke as he strolled in through the door. Bell above jingling with his entrance.

Spotting her, he smiled slightly and turned to walk towards her. Chiseled face incredibly intense, as he literally seemed to stalk towards her. Dressed simply in black jeans and a white t-shirt that clung to the hard planes of his chest like a second skin.

Sophia couldn't help but feel her heart flutter in her breast at the sight of him. Sometimes, it felt as if the last few weeks hadn't been real. That none of it had actually happened. That all the surrounding events had been a dream. Everything from her Flip, to the Hunters, to her and Luke having gotten together.

But****the continuing flood of Media that had infiltrated Wolf Lake in the last week, was all the reminder she needed to know that it all had very much occurred. 

The large bunch of Reporters were all here to get the scoop on one of the largest mass suicides ever reported, and Matt had ordered everyone in the Pack to lay low. He had forbidden any Changing or runs till after the vultures were through circling. And it was a situation that none of them were pleased about, but weren't about to disobey. Not after the close call that they had all experienced.

"Hey," Luke greeted as he slinked up to her barstool. An almost devilish glint came to his eyes, even as the hard planes of his face softened in welcome relief.

Sophia smiled back almost shyly, heart still fluttering strangely. A smile that morphed into a gentle gasp, as he suddenly pressed his lips to hers. Tongue skillfully slipping through her parting lips to mate with her own hungrily. His taste was dark and sensual and everything right in the world, and one she just wanted to drown into forever.

At the same time, his hands came down securely on the gentle curve of her hips as he hoisted her up. Waiting patiently as her arms looped automatically around his neck, before taking a few steps with her in his arms. Her feet dangling a few inches off the ground.

Sophia grinned a little wickedly against their still joined lips, getting past her initial shyness, as she felt the muscles of his shoulders clench under her slender palms as he lifted her higher, setting her derriere down gently on the counter, as his body pressed in aggressively against hers. Kiss deepening seductively, as his palms slid down her thighs, grasping her knees, and gently urging them to part for him. He stepped into the enticing vee that they created, and brought their bodies flush up against each other. Eyes burning gold fire down intently at her.

Breaking the kiss a little breathlessly, Sophia tossed her head back and laughed softly at his version of a greeting. Knowing that her eyes were glowing faintly in response. He gently nipped the curve of her exposed throat in mock retaliation… A grin spreading across his face as well, as the almost predatory set to his mouth and glint to his eyes slipped away, but still present in the hardness of his body against hers.

"Good evening to you, too." Sophia chuckled. Relaxing in his arms as she leaned her cheek against his chest. Listening to the steady rhythm of his heart beat. Something told her that being with him would always make for an interesting day… and night.

"So far this is the only good thing about it." he groused darkly.

"Uh, oh." Sophia replied teasingly. "What happened this time?"

"Oh, just those damn reporters." He growled. "If they don't learn to start minding their own business, I think I'm going to be rather inclined to give them something to **_really _**write about."

Sophia chuckled at his expression of distaste. "They'll go away eventually. They always do."

He grunted. "Not soon enough." Hands slid back up her thighs to press gently into her back.

Sophia didn't answer. She just snuggled closer. Pressing her lips against the pulse beating in the hollow of his throat, right below his Adam's apple. She felt more than saw him smile at the ticklish sensation.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked gently. Large hands stroking the small of her back in a sensual, relaxing movement he knew she loved.

"Better." she admitted. "I still don't remember much about that night. It's still kinda hazy, but my strength is starting to return." 

Sophia's mind and body had been in desperate need of rest, and she had been in and out of consciousness for several days following that fateful night. 

And it was really only in the last couple of days that she had been out and about. As long as she took breaks once in a while for short naps, and didn't participate in any strenuous activity, she did fine.

"Good." Luke teased good-naturedly. "Because I've **_really_** missed being with you." 

Sophia shivered as she felt his teeth suddenly rasp over the tiny shell of her ear. "You **_have _**been with me." She reminded him pointedly. "You never even left my side most of this week."

"You know what I mean." he whispered. Tongue flicking out to stroke the tender area over her pulse.

"Do I?" Sophia asked innocently. Purposely baiting him, even though she knew **_exactly _**what he had meant. She had missed being joined with him as well, and the lack of that recently had been beating at her all day. Aching deep in her soul.

Luke stroked her pulse again with his tongue in answer, before suddenly biting down. Testing her flesh. Hard enough to sting, but without breaking the tender skin.

Sophia gasped sharply, as she arched into him instinctively. Pressing closer to him as he grinded his lower body against hers. Sending darts of desire through her body like liquid lightening. The sensation of the hardness of his desire against her core, and the hardness of the bar underneath her providing her with a completely different meaning to the phrase, 'Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place.' 

She couldn't help but grin secretively at her own private joke. She could already tell that he was beginning to have a **_bad_** influence on her.

After a moment, Luke reluctantly pulled away, putting a few inches between them. Sensing that, although her desire was as strong as his, she was still incredibly weak, and not up to the 'strenuous activity' that would most definitely ensue if this game of truth or dare continued to play out much further.

Sophia growled softly in frustration, but allowed him to pull away nonetheless. She wouldn't let him escape entirely, though. She kept her face tucked into the curve of his throat. Closing her eyes in relaxation as she listened to him breath in and out.

"There's something I've been wanting to discuss with you." Luke said slowly. Arms wrapping themselves loosely around her waist.

"Hmm." Sophia grunted, still keeping her eyes closed. Damn, he smelled so good. She could just stay like this forever.

"I was thinking, what with the mating ceremony coming up for Ruby and John, if maybe we shouldn't be planning something similar for ourselves."

Sophia's lids cracked open slightly.

Luke continued. Voice nonchalant. "I mean, we're already mated in the eyes of the Pack anyway. It would only make sense for us to complete the ceremony."

Sophia picked up her head and looked at him warily. "What are you trying to say, Luke?"

He gazed back at her far too innocently for his own good. "I'm saying that you're the only one I want to be with, Soph. The only one that I want to have as my mate. And I want it to be understood that I won't let anyone come between us. Ever."

Luke still remembered all too well what he had done to Alex. In fact, most of the Pack knew now of what had happened. But he didn't want to take the chance that history might repeat itself, and that is exactly what would happen if he allowed Sophia to run around unmated officially.

Sophia swallowed nervously. Still looking up at him with those wide brown eyes.

Luke suppressed a sigh as he looked back down at her with something akin to amusement. Even after everything they had been through, and everything she had done, the idea of publicly committing herself to him in front of the entire Pack was currently making her turn an interesting shade of green.

"Wh -why?" she stuttered slightly. "I mean, we're still pretty young, Luke. And we've only been together for a short time. Shouldn't we just take it easy for a bit? Let things settle down first?"

"Baby, you're trying to place it in the same category as a human wedding. It's nothing like that. All it is, is a public ceremony in front of the entire Pack, announcing the bond that has already been created between us."

Sophia didn't respond. And the Diner fell quiet for a moment.

Luke suddenly blinked. "Is there someone else in the Pack you would prefer to mate with?"

"No! Or course not!"

"Then is it possible that you're already becoming bored with me?"

"No, Luke. That's not it at all! You are the only one that I want to be with." Sophia groaned inwardly. She didn't want him think she didn't care for him. Truth was, she was frightened by the intensity of her feelings for him sometimes. She had never known that loving someone like this would **_be_** like this. This…overwhelming.

Luke's tone softened slightly, as he hugged her closer. "Then what is it that bothers you about making our relationship official by the Pack's laws? We've already made the commitment to each other."

Sophia hesitated. How could she put this, without him taking it the wrong way?

"It's just been a very hectic couple of weeks, Luke. I need time to think. To recover. Can't we just take things slow for a while, before we go and make such big decisions that will effect the rest of our lives?"

Sophia saw a muscle jump in his cheek, and suppressed a wince. Afraid that he would be upset with her.

"You're right." He agreed suddenly. Surprising her. "It has been a rather messed up time, hasn't it? If it is what you want, then we can take things slower."

Sophia almost sagged with relief, and quickly hugged him to her. Suddenly able to breath easier.

Luke held her for a moment, before pulling away. His fingers coming up to gently grasp her chin, as he peered into her face intently. Pale green eyes glittering faintly. "But not **_too _**slow, Sophia. I'm willing to provide you with enough time to let all of this sink in, and for you to make up your mind about what you want to do. But I will ask you again one day soon. And I'll expect you to say yes."

Sophia blinked at the frankness of his words, and then nodded solemnly. Knowing that he had never been more serious about something that he was in that moment. 

The corners of Luke's lips curled upwards in a small smile of satisfaction as he softly pressed his lips to hers in an almost chaste kiss, before letting his fingers fall away from her chin. Still observing her as closely as she was him.

****** 

"So you're saying that Tyler really was working for the Hunters?" Ruby asked Sherman, as her, Sherman, and John walked down the street that cut through the heart of the town. 

"Yes, he was. Just not in the way you're thinking."

"Then what way?" John asked. Arm wrapped around Ruby's shoulders securely.

"He was **_pretending_** to work for David Van Halen, but, in actuality, he was in league with Damien. Everything that he did, from capturing Sophia, to 'helping' David locate your group that night, was all with the purpose of deceiving the Hunters **_and _**the Pack long enough for everything to fall into place."

"So he never really did turn against us." Ruby mused softly.

"No, he didn't. Although I suspect that the number he did on John outside your cabin was personal, even if everything else was not."

John grimaced at the memory, but didn't say anything.

Ruby shook her head. "I didn't even realize it."

Sherman shrugged. "Don't feel too badly about it, Ruby. I doubt anyone could ever conceive entirely of what goes on in Creed's mind. He's a law onto himself, always has been. Always will."

"Does anyone have any idea where he's gone off to?" John asked. Looking over at Sherman.

"No. He's left Wolf Lake… that much is certain. I don't know where he might have disappeared to. Or if he'll ever even come back."

"He will. Tyler was never one to just simply run away." Ruby assured. Mouth thinning at the idea of the tension that his return would cause. She was sure that the only reason why John was even still alive was because Tyler had sensed that she was pregnant. That would have been the only thing that would have stopped him from killing his rival, and claiming her once more as his mate.

She was still surprised that he had been that decent to begin with. She never would have thought him capable of it. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that he wouldn't want to raise another man's young as his own, as he would be forced to do if he killed John. Or maybe… maybe he had finally made up his mind to let her go.

She sub-consciously pressed a palm to her still flat stomach. Wondering for the hundredth time if the twins were boys or girls. 

They walked in silence for a while, before John brought up another subject he had been wondering about.

"When was it that you heard from Damien?"

"A couple of days ago. He sent me a packet, post-marked from Russia, that had some of the ancient Skinwalker documents that have been lost to us till now. Part of his father's personal collection, from what I gathered. It's made for some very interesting reading material. Did you know that – "

Ruby groaned. "Oh, don't you even dare get started, Blackstone! I've had enough of prophecies, and destinies, and all the rest of that stuff to last me for this month, thank you very much. Just… keep it to yourself. Please."

Sherman smirked. "Very well. But you don't know what you're missing."

"That's kinda the point." Ruby growled back at him darkly.

"That reminds me. How are the preparations coming for the mating ceremony for you two?"

Ruby sighed. Giving up on trying to understand his sudden shifts in a conversation. "Matt wants us to wait till things settle down around here first, before it is performed. And as there really isn't much to do by way of getting ready, we really haven't concerned ourselves with it just yet."

John leaned over to nuzzle the side of her cheek. "At least you can get to wear your mother's dress finally."

Ruby smiled. And then looked back over to Sherman. Thinking of something. Mood growing serious for a brief moment.

"How are the children doing?"

Sherman became serious. "As well as can be expected, I guess. They've been adopted into other, familiar homes within the Pack. But it's still hard. They have a lot that they're going to have to work through when the time comes."

John frowned slightly. "I'm still confused as to just **_how_** you managed to save them."

Sherman didn't respond. He acted as if John had said nothing at all. Even ignoring him when the younger man growled in frustration. Even though Sherman did smile secretively to himself upon hearing the familiar sound. He had heard it enough times over the last few months since the beginning of John's frustrating quest for Ruby in Wolf Lake.

"You're not ever going to say what it was that you did, are you?" John finally asked bluntly. Glowering at his soon-to-be-wife as she snickered shamelessly at his aggravation. Knowing all too well how horrible Sherman could be about keeping secrets.

"That's right." Sherman finally replied simply. 

John muttered something under his breath that made Ruby break out laughing. Sherman's eyes widened in mock surprise.

"My dear John. I assure you, I may consider myself to be many things, but an **_old_** man is not one of them."

John just shook his head. Pulling Ruby with him as he turned down another road. This one heading to the Sheriff's Department. The sound of Ruby's laughter trailing behind them.

Sherman turned his head to watch them go, chuckling to himself, but still walking resolutely towards his original destination.

The Diner. 

****** 

Sophia and Luke both looked towards the entrance of the Diner as Sherman came in. Smirking as he took in the view.

"Did I interrupt something?"

Blushing, Sophia pushed herself off the counter, as Luke stepped back a few inches. Meeting the Keeper's gaze frankly. Not inclined to feel that least bit embarrassed, about their insinuatingly compromised position.

Looking back down at Sophia's gently flushed face, he suppressed a grin of amusement, as he leaned closer to speak softly in her ear.

"I'll see you later. Remember to think about what about what I said, okay?"

Sophia nodded, still a little embarrassed to have been seen with him like that. She pressed a brief kiss to the corner of that intriguing mouth of his, as he began to walk away.

She watched him walk past Sherman, nodding once, before disappearing through the door.

Her line if sight then shifted to Sherman. Grinning openly at her.

Her eyes narrowed. "Don't start."

Sherman's eyes widened innocently. "I didn't say anything. I have nothing to say."

Sophia straightened her blouse, and ran her palms down her thighs self-consciously. "That would be a first."

"Yes, it would."

Sophia glared at him. But her lips couldn't help but twist up into a smile of their own violation. 

Sherman smiled back. Still standing by the door. "Walk with me?"

Sophia looked around the Diner, and then nodded in agreement. 

Exiting the Diner, they walked across the gravel parking lot in companionable silence. Sounds of the day coming to an end as the sun began its decent surrounded them. Mingling with the crunching of the gray and white rocks beneath their feet.

"How are you feeling?" Sherman asked curiously. Briefly studying her face in the light from the setting sun. She looked better than she had a few days back. The dark shadows under her eyes were finally fading, and she didn't look quite as pale. Quite as fragile, or as tired. He could see the spark of life coming back into her eyes, but he figured that had more to do with her private moment with Luke than anything else.

Still, she looked quite different. And the difference wasn't so much in her physical form, but in the way she carried herself. And what lay just beneath the surface. 

She had made the transition from the uncertain girl to that of a strong young woman. And that certainty clung to her like frost to a leaf. Changing something considered ordinary by others, into something **_extraordinary_** to all who witnessed it. Subtle but nonetheless incredibly moving.

She was fulfilling her destiny, and her gentle strength was slowly flowing, unnoticed, through the Pack like a living, breathing thread. Finally beginning to stir in the light of revelation after an eternity in winter.

Yes, Sherman acknowledged. This young one's journey had just begun.

"Better. Still a little tired, though."

"That is to be expected, after what you accomplished. 

Sophia was quiet for a moment, shielding her eyes with her hand against the bright yellow glow of the sun. Finally she asked a question that had been lingering with her for a few days.

"How is Presley doing?"

Sherman pressed his lips together grimly. "I don't know. She really isn't a mood to talk to anyone right now." he glanced back over to Sophia. "Maybe you cou–"

"No." Sophia cut him off firmly. Shooting him a subtle warning glance. "Presley and I may have come to a truce, but we are far from friends. I would only make her situation worse. She'll be okay. In time."

Sherman let out a breath in exasperation but didn't respond. Deciding to leave the still present tension between Sophia and Presley alone for the time being. 

"Have you been able to do any research on what we talked about?" she suddenly asked nonchalantly, as they stepped over from the parking lot, and onto the concrete sidewalk. Going to no particular location as they walked through the town.

She listened as cars went by, horns beeping at each other. The sound of children running in and out of shops. Playing a game of tag as the various shop owners and workers chased them out. And heard various couples and families – Skinwalker and human – talking and laughing with one another. Greeting each other with friendly smiles and courteous waves. 

Everything had resumed a normal pace for Wolf Lake. And so far, hardly any of them knew that the reason why it had, was because of the young woman currently walking through their mists with the town's local high school teacher at her side.

And they never would. The Pack knew **_something _**had happened. They had felt it when their mental abilities had been taken and combined and funneled into an unknown source. But it had been Sophia's wish that no one outside her immediate circle knew of the incidents of that night. Only Matt, Vivian, John and Ruby, Luke and Sherman knew the truth. And they had agreed to her wishes that it remain thus.

But only Sherman knew her **_other _**secret. The one that had revealed itself to her in the midst of that night's events. The one she had yet to reveal even to her father. Something told her that it was best not to just yet.

"Yes, I have. I've found a few references, but nothing solid just yet. Are you sure, Sophia, that it was a second Pack?"

"I'm positive. They're real, Sherman. I felt them. I **_connected_** with them." She grimaced suddenly. "If they're anything like this Pack, then there going to be searching for some answers as to what happened."

He took in a breath. "Well, there are a couple of journal entries in the some of the old texts recording the crossing to the New World back in the 1600s. Apparently, there were **_two_** ships, not one, that contained the last remnants of your species, under Rianna and her mate's rule. During a particularly nasty typhoon, one of the ships didn't make it. The other just assumed they were lost forever, and kept going till they reached the mainland. You know the rest."

Sophia mulled it over. "That's it, then. They didn't die… they **_lived_**. And somehow, they managed to make it to land. They probably thought that **_they_** were the last. Just like we did."

"I guess so."

Sophia turned to look at him. A frown of confusion suddenly forming between her brows. "Why aren't you more pleased about this? They're out there, Sherman! Another **_Pack. _**I would have thought you would have been ecstatic."

Sherman sighed. "I am happy that they survived, Sophia. But do you realize what kind of repercussions this will carry? Let's say that they are out there. First off, we have no way of getting in touch with them, no way of finding them. Second, even if we did, what is that going to do to the social structure of both of our Clans? We would have to come together, Sophia. And if that happens, you know as well as I, that it will be a blood bath! Hundreds of years have passed since both groups were separated. It isn't going to be pretty. Not on either side."

Sophia groaned. "I know it's going to be hard, but we don't have a choice. If you haven't noticed, the gene pool **_is _**getting****kinda shallow around here, Sherman. I'm **_positive_** that is why we are losing so many of our youth to the Flip… It's the only thing that makes sense. We didn't always have this problem with the initial Change. And I'm willing to lay odds that **_they _**are dealing with the same problem too."

She stopped. Pulling Sherman to a halt beside her. "Don't you see? That's it. That's the answer to our survival. We've been isolated from each other for so long… if we come together **_now_**, it will save the future generations of our species."

Sherman quirked his brow. "Even if it means having to leave Wolf Lake to meet them half way?"

Sophia didn't even blink. "Some sacrifices might have to be made… It won't be easy, I know that. Change never is. But we're dying out, Sherman. If we are not willing to accept changes, then we'll be accomplishing the Hunters' work for them."

Sherman studied her for a moment, and then his eyes widened a fraction as something had finally just occurred to him.

"That's it." he whispered. Almost to himself.

"What? What's it?" Sophia frowned again.  "Sherman, what are you talking about?"

Sherman shook his head a bit before answering her. Humored disbelief present in his eyes. "That is why there are two of you, Sophia. You and Ruby. Not because of the Hunters, but because of **_this._**"

Sophia stilled. Listening to his words as other, more familiar ones echoed in her mind.

You two truly are two parts of the same whole, but yet, at the same time, so completely separate from one another. Diverse and unique. And it is these qualities that you both will bring to this time in your Pack's history, that will save them.

The Hunters are not the only dangers that you are faced with, they are not the only "Darkness" shadowing your people…

And then it finally clicked with her, what Sherman was getting at.

Swallowing nervously, she looked back up at Sherman. "And you think that there were two white females chosen for this… because…?"

"It makes perfect sense. The Prophecy wasn't specific enough for us to **_truly_** believe that the Hunters were the Darkness foretold. The whole thing about the Blood Moon and the deaths of some of our own, was just the turning point. The foretelling of what was to come. To **_show_** us when the real Darkness would begin to threaten... And to prepare the two of you for your combined destiny."

Sophia rubbed her forehead. Already feeling the headache beginning to form. But Sherman wasn't done. Not by a long shot.

 "You two were not chosen because of the struggle with the Hunters. As we've already seen, that would have been overkill. You handled that one all on your own, Sophia, without any help from Ruby's end. The real reason why **_two_** white female wolves were born instead of one, was because of this. Don't you see? You weren't both chosen to beat that faction of human butchers... You were chosen to battle the greatest threat of all to the Skinwalkers."

(Soundtrack Suggestion and Closing Theme – "Sunlight" by Natalie Imbruglia from the Album "White Lilies Island")

**Today, we don't know who we are… Ashamed, hiding behind the scars…**

Sophia eyed him cautiously. "Which is?" 

And Sherman's answer was simple. Frank.

"Themselves." 

Sophia blinked.

Sherman watched her for a moment, and then nodded satisfactory. Sensing that this was one of those moments where it was necessary for him to now leave her to think things through.

Before slinking off, though, he touched a finger to his temple in a mock salute. 

"Boy, I'd **_hate_** to have your job. You've both got you're work cut out for you."

**Too many times we let the things we feel, get in the way of letting us heal the wounds…**

Sophia watched him walk away and disappear into the crowd. Her feet still rooted to the same spot he had left her in.

Running her hands helplessly through her long thick, dark mane, she finally forced herself to take a few steps in desperation. Trying to figure out in her chaotic mind what she needed to do next. Where she needed to go. She couldn't very well stay here… Standing out in the opening like an idiot. Staring at nothing.

**That open in the dark…**

And then that answer came to her. 

Taking that idea and running with it, she turned away from the sidewalk and walked into the woods bordering the town. Knowing **_exactly_** where she needed to go in order to absorb what Sherman had just told her.

Coming upon her destination, she pushed aside some of the over-hanging tree limbs as she slid past them, and stepped up to the edge of the large expanse of the lake's waters. Looking out over the glittering depths as small waves gently slapped against the banks. Enticing her to step into their embrace.

**Did you ever feel sunlight on your face…?**

**Did you ever taste clouds…?**

**Did you ever touch space…?**

**Did you ever feel sunlight on your face…?**

**Did you ever truly live…?**

Kicking off her shoes, she did just that.

**So walk, in time to life's refrain…**

She didn't stop until the water was up to her waist. Gently caressing and lapping at her abdomen like the touch of a lover. Welcoming her home. Her feet sunk into the sandy bottom, like silt from an ocean.

And it was only then that she felt like she was finally able to breath. Free from the old concerns and the fears that Sherman's words had sparked within her.

**Relax, don't do it to yourself again…**

Arms fanning out to swirl in the water around her, she closed her eyes in rising contentment. Relaxing against the gentle pulse of the water against her lower body. Causing her to sway slightly in tune.

**Decaying yourself with all the love you won't give… Killing yourself about the way you don't live now…**

She knew in her heart that the words that Sherman had just spoken to her were correct. Knew that it was the truth. He was right… Everything that had happened over the last month, had been with the intent of preparing her and Ruby both for the trial ahead. And the Darkness that would never truly go away, for it was inherent in every one of them. Always would be.

**Cause you're not gonna live forever…**

Sophia suddenly smiled secretively, as she turned her head up to the sky. Feeling the warmth of the sun's caress upon her features, as her soul suddenly began to feel more at peace now, than it had this entire week.

Did you ever feel sunlight on your face…? 

But that didn't mean that they couldn't find a way around it. After all, that was what hope was for. Hope for love… Hope for safety... Hope for freedom. The future presented so many different possibilities for every single one of them.

**Did you ever taste clouds?**

**Did you ever touch space…?**

And that future was finally theirs.

**Did you ever feel sunlight on your face…?**

And for her, for today, and for this moment… that was all that mattered in the world to Sophia Donner. 

**Did you ever just _live?!!_**

And it was enough.

**Did you ever feel sunlight on your face?**

**Did you ever breathe hope?**

**Did you ever dance with grace?**

**Did you ever feel sunlight on your face?**

**Did you ever truly live?**

**Did you ever touch the sky…?**

**Did you ever just feel so alive…?  
  
**

Did you ever just live? 

****** 

**In the age of the Blood Moon, when its light will glow red from the spilled blood of the Ancestors, and the crimson of their Descendants will flow to stain the forest floor… the form of the white wolf will appear once again… But to battle the oncoming Darkness, it's soul will reside… not in the shell of One… but in that of Two…**

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

End of Season One

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Well… (Sapphira drawls out dramatically) Second Season, anyone??? (wicked grin) No really, I want to know… should I continue with it…??? (Sapphira pondering her own question closely…)

~'~{*}~'~


End file.
